Building, flying, graphing, constructing, eating
These last two weeks have seen iterations two and three of our tetrahedral kite. After reflecting on kite one, the Teal Band knew they needed to solve the problems caused by so many string connections which loosened during flight, as well as address the time factor it took to construct the kite. After some hands-on exploration of the materials and online research, it was discovered that the string could be eliminated completely by simply inserting one end of the straw into the end of another, three times over, and closing off the shape to create a triangle. With the time spent studying tetrahedrons, the band quickly saw ways to create one tetrahedron using only two triangles and building off of others to create the other two faces. This method cut down on construction time greatly, allowing them to build a kite in about one day instead of three.
Another issue that arose with the initial kite was how delicate the tissue paper was. The band wanted to improve on its performance and after some research, which also included trying out mylar, they settled on Tyvek. The Tyvek was found to be an incredibly sturdy material and was quite easy to affix to the kite's straw structure.
Unfortunately, the afternoon we chose to fly our second iteration up on Bernal Hill, the wind was incredibly strong and it wreaked havoc on our kite. The amazing thing was that it continued to fly even after the straws began to pull apart from one another. While it initially felt like a failure, a reflection on the kite's construction, materials, and flight brought to light the successes and next steps.
The band decided to keep the basic design and construction methods the same for the third iteration, which included two kites. The biggest overall change that was made included taping the straws together at their connection points. Huxley was incredibly interested in seeing how the scale of the tetrahedron also played into its stability. This is how the second kite came to be. The straws were cut shorter, creating smaller tetrahedral structures. The band also decided to use mylar from emergency blankets to create the sails for this kite and continued to use Tyvek on the other, larger kite. Jared and Huxley were luckily able to salvage a fair amount of Tyvek from the second kite to use on the third.
With the completion of our two third iteration kites, we took them to Ocean Beach in hopes of finding a good ocean breeze to send them soaring. Our sunny San Francisco October days certainly seem to have it out for us now. There was zero wind. The band made multiple attempts to get them off the ground, racing up and down the beach. Neither of them made it very far into the air, but the movements they did make give us hope for a successful future flight.
When we weren't building our kites or attempting to fly them, we were "playing" with paper airplanes. The Teal Band experimented with a number of designs and eventually found "The Moth" to be a stable and sturdy plane. Once the planes were built, we discussed multiple ways we could test their flight and measure particular outcomes. We measured distances flow, heights thrown from, length of flight time, wing surface area, and multiple other constants and variables. After selecting a constant and a variable, the data was measured and recorded in a table, then transferred to a graph. One observation that really stood out to the band, was how much thrust (how hard the "pilot" threw the plane) played a part in the plane's flight path and distance flown.
The redesign of the bridge between the Teal bandspace and the library has moved into its construction phase. Once it was decided that the bridge needed to incorporate some storage space, the band worked to design a shelving system that will eventually hold their "favorite books." Observing Amanda's shelf she built for the shop provided inspiration, leading to construction drawings, measurements and cut lists. Using all their building skills, the Teal Band was able to cut all 2x3s for the shelf and begin carefully assembling it so that it is completely square.
Anyone who puts in this much work deserves something special. For that reason, after attempting to fly their kites at Ocean Beach, the Teal Band got to have tostadas at my house. They were definitely enjoyed. Who knew a band of 10 and 11 year olds could go through a jar of jalapeños? I do now.