Flight
Description
Participants study the principles of flight and design in order to fabricate a glider that stays in flight for the greatest elapsed time. The glider must be designed to be launched from a catapult that is provided on site. The design process is documented in a portfolio that is submitted for evaluation.
2023-24 Highlights
Any materials are allowed to be used to create the glider. The material blanks must fit the regulations below:
i) Templates, jigs, and fixtures MAY be used in constructing gliders(these are to help facilitate fast and accurate construction),however, these templates, jigs, and fixtures must be developed and built by students, and must not be the same material as the blanks to eliminate confusion with pre-made parts.
Resources
MS Flight Reference Guide - by Peter Whitney
Tod Pham, Franklin MS, 2023 1st Place
Event Deadlines
january 11, 2024
Students will need their Participant ID number, and password, from their advisor.
Students submit designs, and photos of test built planes as a pdf file.
Students also upload their test flight video to any platform, and submit a URL link to it.
march 2024
Students will submit their final portfolio on Wednesday evening. On Thursday morning, they will test fly their plane. Semifinalists will go directly from there to building another plane, and then directly back to testing.
Washington TSA Rules
To compete, students must belong to an affiliated TSA chapter, register for competition by December 15, 2023, and pay the $30 competition fee. Participants must also meet the January 11 event deadlines (see above) to “qualify” for the Washington TSA State Conference in March.
To compete at the WTSA State Conference, students must have been registered in December, met the Jan. 11 deadline, and then register in February for the State Conference ($420/$500 per student package price (4 or 2 students per room)).
At the state level, 3 individuals per chapter may compete.
Additional Information
Event Coordinator: Eugene Nicholas, nicholas.eugene@ysd7.org
Event Manager: Spencer Martin, spencer.martin@sunnysideschools.org