Planes, Gliders, and Paper Rockets: Simple Flying Things Anyone Can Make

Rick Schertle

BookMiddle SchoolHigh SchoolPilot

About

Do helicopters need more or less energy to stay in the sky than an airplane? What pushes a rocket to leave the atmosphere? Why can airplanes have smaller motors than helicopters?

Help your students learn the answers to these and other questions!

Written for educators, homeschoolers, parents--and kids!--this fully illustrated book provides a fun mix of projects, discussion materials, instructions, and subjects for deeper investigation around the basics of homemade flying objects. With the projects in this book, you can spend more time learning and experimenting, and less time planning and preparing.

Complete with download links to PDF templates that expand your teaching, this is your one-stop manual for learning about, interacting with, and being curious about airflow, gravity, torque, power, ballistics, pressure, and force.

In Make: Planes, Gliders, and Paper Rockets, you'll make and experiment with:

  • Paper catapult helicopter--add an LED light for night launches!
  • Pull-string stick helicopter
  • Rubber band airplane
  • Simple sled kite
  • 25-cent quick-build kite
  • Air rockets with a parachute or a glider
  • Foam air rocket
  • Rocket stands
  • Bounce rocket
  • Low- and high-pressure rocket launchers

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Why it’s great

Part engineering guide, part maker-manual, this book walks tweens through building everything from straw gliders to rubber-band planes using household materials. Step-by-step photos, lift-and-drag explanations, and troubleshooting tips foster genuine STEM skills. Projects scale in difficulty, so learners see immediate success and long-term challenge. Ideal for science fairs or backyard flight tests.

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Resource Details

Resource Type: Book
Age Ranges: Middle School, High School
Careers: Pilot
Subjects:

Book Details

Author: Rick Schertle