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JPL Annual 2003 Invention Challenge Results Gallery
Entry 23
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Comments from Entries 23, 24, and 25
A. My students enjoyed the competition. At first it was hard because
we could never get our planes to fly before. We had a person from HRP
systems come and talk to the students and go over what the thrust will
be applied to the plane. He also talked to them about aerodynamics.
B. My students thought the fact that students used pre-made kits was
not very acceptable in that they didn't learn as much. We bought a
Styrofoam plane just to study, but I made them build theirs from
scratch. I could understand a junior high, but a high school should
have challenged their students more.
My students built various types of planes and I didn't limit them to any
design. We used balsa wood because it was reality cheap. My students
come from very low-income families and what we use is what I buy or what
mesa provides. We used weights from bolts, washers, old batteries, duck
tape, plastic tape, lots of glue, sand paper, and saws.
C. Our final designs were made of wood glued together with weights from
bolts, washers, batteries, and lots of tape.
D. The testing was very helpful. The CSULB center made us a catapult
and we tested our planes and made corrections. Several problems we ran
into was our planes kept breaking and we would have to glue them back
together or make splints for them. We also tested in a heavy head wind.
At 3:00 pm there is a wind coming in from the ocean, which was not the
same at Fullerton or at JPL. We also felt we tested so much that the
spring was not as strong as the one at JPL.
E. Our team enjoyed the regional competition. We took 5 planes and
then did testing there against the calmer air. The best 3 we entered.
Some of our planes broke and the students learned it was important to
have backup planes and spare parts. We had taken glue, tape, and extra
wood. The third place plane broke just before the competition started
and had to have glue, split and tape to fly. The students also barrowed
the Costa Mesa students idea about using rubber bands to keep the wings
on so you could adjust them at the competition site.
F. My overall experience and feeling is the students learned a lot.
The rules were clear. I was a little disappointed that more engineers
from JPL didn't compete. I also feel they didn't test any of their
planes ahead of time. The students expected great designs from the JPL
folks. My students enjoyed the day at JPL. Everyone at JPL was nice
and helpful. My students now want to be engineers so they can get a
two-hour lunch. I told them they had to stay and make up their time. I
appreciate the JPL press getting my students on TV. She seems great at
spreading the coverage around so all schools got a chance to be on TV.
G. My team would improve their designs by using different materials so
they wouldn't break so easy. Maybe use plastic or other harder woods.
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