Unit 4: Fabrication of non-powered Gliders - Practice Quiz

1 What provides the initial motion for a non-powered plastic glider?

2 Which property is most desirable in plastic used for a small glider?

3 Why should the left and right wings of a plastic glider be symmetrical?

4 Which tool is suitable for marking a wing outline on a plastic sheet?

5 What should be done before cutting a plastic glider part?

6 Where should a small plastic glider first be test-flown?

7 How should a plastic glider usually be launched for its first test?

8 What is the main purpose of the tail on a plastic glider?

9 If a plastic glider repeatedly turns left, what should be checked first?

10 Why are small adjustments preferred when trimming a plastic glider?

11 Why is balsa wood commonly used for model gliders?

12 Which tool is commonly used to smooth the edges of a balsa glider part?

13 What is the fuselage of a balsa glider?

14 What is the main function of a glider's wings?

15 Why should glue be applied sparingly when building a balsa glider?

16 What should be done while glued balsa parts are drying?

17 What does the center of gravity describe on a balsa glider?

18 If a balsa glider stalls after launch, what is a likely cause?

19 Which direction should a balsa glider be launched in a light breeze?

20 Why should cracks be repaired before flying a balsa glider?

21 A plastic glider repeatedly climbs sharply after launch and then drops its nose. What is the most appropriate first adjustment?

22 When cutting a balsa-wood wing, how should the grain normally be oriented for maximum bending strength?

23 A plastic glider has a mass of kg and a rectangular wing measuring m by m. What is its wing loading?

24 Two balsa wing panels must be joined at a dihedral angle. Which method gives the strongest lightweight joint?

25 A plastic glider consistently rolls to one side because one wingtip is visibly twisted. What should be done before changing the ballast?

26 Which selection of balsa is most suitable for a glider requiring a strong wing and a lightweight tail?

27 A thin plastic-sheet wing flexes excessively during launch. Which modification will increase stiffness with the smallest mass increase?

28 A student is sanding matching balsa wings. Which procedure best prevents one wing from producing more lift than the other?

29 Before using an unfamiliar adhesive on a plastic glider, what is the safest fabrication procedure?

30 A balsa glider has masses of g at cm, g at cm, and g at cm from its nose. Approximately where is its center of gravity?

31 A correctly assembled plastic glider enters a steady, steep dive during gentle test launches. Which trimming change is most suitable?

32 A balsa wing spar cracks near its middle. Which repair best preserves strength while limiting added mass?

33 Every linear dimension of a plastic glider template is reduced to of its original value. What percentage of the original wing area will the new wing have?

34 Which fabrication practice best reduces humidity-related warping of a thin balsa tailplane?

35 A student wants to compare two plastic wing designs fairly. Which testing method produces the most useful comparison?

36 A redesigned balsa glider is heavier but has the same wing area and lift coefficient. Approximately how much faster must it fly to produce the same relative lift?

37 A plastic glider has flat wings and tends to remain banked after a small disturbance. Which change would most improve its roll stability?

38 While cutting a thin balsa tailplane, the wood repeatedly splits ahead of the blade. Which technique should the student use?

39 An adhesive that worked in a scrap test peels from a smooth plastic wing during assembly. What surface preparation is most likely to improve the joint?

40 A balsa glider flew well until its tail was replaced with a heavier part. It now stalls repeatedly. Which correction is most appropriate?

41 A flat plastic wing has thickness and flexural rigidity proportional to . Sanding reduces its thickness uniformly by . Assuming the elastic modulus and wing geometry remain unchanged, what fraction of the original flexural rigidity remains?

42 A plastic glider has mass and its center of gravity is behind the nose. Ballast is placed behind the nose. Approximately how much ballast is required to move the center of gravity to ?

43 A thin plastic wing flies normally at low speed but develops rapid twisting oscillations after a strong launch. Which fabrication change most directly addresses the likely cause without adding excessive mass?

44 After heat-forming a plastic wing, the left panel cools with a greater positive incidence than the right panel. With all other alignments correct, what is the most likely initial behavior in a gentle glide?

45 A plastic glider is enlarged geometrically by a linear scale factor of , including material thickness, while retaining the same material. How do wing loading and characteristic stall speed scale?

46 A solvent-based adhesive produces white cracks around a joint in a clear plastic fuselage, although the bond initially feels strong. Which response is most technically appropriate?

47 A plastic glider repeatedly stalls after launch. Moving a small test mass forward eliminates the stall but produces an excessively steep, fast glide. Which permanent correction best balances stability and performance?

48 A wing is cut from corrugated plastic sheet. For maximum resistance to spanwise bending with minimal reinforcement, how should the internal flutes normally be oriented?

49 A heat-formed plastic wing is symmetric when removed from its mold but becomes warped several hours later. Which fabrication change most directly reduces this delayed distortion?

50 Two plastic wings have identical planforms and material, but Wing B is twice as thick as Wing A. Ignoring geometric nonlinearities, how do Wing B's mass per unit area and flexural rigidity compare with Wing A?

51 A rectangular balsa wing spar must resist spanwise bending. Which grain orientation gives the best primary load path?

52 A built-up balsa wing twists under aerodynamic load even though its upper and lower spar caps resist bending adequately. Which addition most efficiently improves torsional rigidity?

53 Two balsa gliders have equal total mass and identical center-of-gravity positions. Glider X concentrates ballast near its center of gravity, while Glider Y divides the ballast between the nose and tail. Which difference is expected?

54 A balsa wing remains straight in a humid workshop but develops one raised trailing edge after drying in sunlight. Which preventive method is most effective during fabrication?

55 A balsa glider tends to drop a wing abruptly near minimum flying speed. Both panels are straight, but their tips have the same incidence as their roots. Which modification best promotes a more controllable root-first stall?

56 A cracked balsa fuselage longeron must be repaired without creating a severe local stress concentration. Which joint geometry is generally preferable?

57 During a calm-air test, a balsa glider loses of altitude while traveling horizontally after the launch transient. What is its approximate glide ratio?

58 A balsa glider has a mean aerodynamic chord of . Its neutral point is behind the leading edge, and its center of gravity is behind the leading edge. What is its static margin?

59 A designer can select balsa of different densities for a built-up glider wing. Which distribution best combines structural efficiency with low mass?

60 A balsa glider consistently turns left. Viewed from the front, the left wing has less dihedral than the right, and the rudder is centered. Which correction most directly addresses the fabrication error before adding trim tabs?