kite/glider

Another Dear Grandpa Pencil 'Helping the Planet' Project

Grandpa Pencil
Learns how to build a
Kite/Glider
from Drinking Straws and Plastic Shopping Bags

Making Up the Kite

You will need: 5 bendy straws and one simple 'T joint ' for the frame, a light plastic supermarket bag, some craft glue, packaging or electrical tape, a few meters (yards) of coloured wool and a blob of plasticine or play dough.

The Body

Take three bendy straws and tape them together at both ends and in the middle so that they lay flat and firm. Alternate the bendy bits in this bundle from end to end.

The Sail

Slide the body section onto the middle of the 'T joint' with a little bit of craft glue on the pipe cleaner. Then, with glue again, add the two sail straws X, one on each remaining leg of the joint.
Lay your frame on the flat side (remember that the body is three straws high), adjust your angles and allow to dry.
When your joints are dry roughly cut out a section of the plastic bag. Run a bead of craft glue along each of the straws on the flat side and press down on your plastic sheet and allow to dry thoroughly.

Finishing Off and Flying your Kite/Glider

Trim off the plastic so that your craft looks a bit like the drawing at the top of the page.
To add the wool tails cut three lengths of pipe cleaners to about 5 cm (2") and fold each in halves. Put the wool into the fold and slide each into a straw as illustrated.
To add the plasticine to the front X cut another 5 cm of pipe cleaner, put the blob in the fold and slide into one of the front body straws.
Test fly and add or take from the wool at the back (by trimming) or the gloop at the front, until your craft flies the way you require.
You can fly the craft as a glider, like a paper plane.

			Grandpa's Activities
Go Home	World Countries	Easy Science		For The Teacher	Things That Move	List Of Contents