Kai

Overview

Our plane is a toy that can be used to entertain and have fun. Our targeted audiences are kids of all ages looking to have a fun time with their friends. We have found various similar products on the internet, however, they all look extremely similar to each other. Our design converts elastic potential energy, when you rotate the propeller towards the right many times, to kinetic energy, when you release the propeller and let go of the plane, the propeller will pull the plane through the air.

Our design consists of many pieces, the main fuselage, which holds 2 magnets at the front to balance the weight, the left and right main wings, the right and left horizontal stabilizers, and the vertical stabilizer.

The fuselage will be made from two straws attached to each other using super glue. The main wings as well as the horizontal and vertical stabilizers will all be cut from a large piece of foam, minimizing the amount of foam we use. They would then be attached to the main body using a combination of super glue and hot glue. We will first directly glue the main wing onto the body using super glue, and then we would use very small amounts of hot glue on the front and back of the joint to make sure it is secured in place. The horizontal and vertical stabilizers will be attached using the same method but towards the end of the fuselage.

The propeller will be made from plastic cups from Sodexo. The cups are plastic, which is very durable and also light, they also had a natural curve which made them the perfect material to build our propeller from. The propeller would be attached to a metal hook that went through a short piece of paper straw to secure it in place, and a rubberband will be used to connect the hook with the end of the plane.

The foam was the only change we made. We originally planned to use straws covered with paper to lighten the plane, however the paper was too weak and ripped very easily. Another problem with the initial design was the straws that would hold the wing in place. We could only find plastic straws that were about 15 centimeters, not even half of what the wingspan was. Therefore, we decided to use foam which is a light weight and durable material.

From this process, I learned the importance of planning carefully and ensuring everything could be completed in a timely manner. Since I had just thought that the propeller would work as well as ones displayed in videos, yet I did not think about how they could spin so smoothly. I also learned how important it was to know what kind of materials were available to us, and to make thoughtful decisions when changing or using different kinds of materials.

Rubric

Strengths – Clear impact on the intended audience, analysis of precedents, documented design process and success criteria.

Weaknesses – Not doing enough research on how the propellers were able to spin in the videos, and the materials we used had some impacts on the environment such as the plastic cups we used for the propellers.

Success Criteria:

Strengths – We met three out of the five success criterions we listed, and we were able to accomplish the goal of making the plane fly.

Weaknesses – We were unable to make use of the propeller, which was the main part of this project. We thought that by just putting them in place, it would work as effectively as in the various tutorial videos on YouTube, however we ignored the existence of friction between the propeller and the piece of straw that was holding it in place, which caused the propeller to be stuck and ultimately taken off to ensure stable flight.

In conclusion, I am satisfied with our product, although we didn’t effectively manage our time to make improvements, we did construct a working plane that was stable, and could fly a good distance before hitting the ground. However, there are also a lot of challenges. Firstly, we missed the fact that friction played a big part in stopping the propeller from rotating. If we had more time we could possibly have come up with a solution to solve the problem. Another challenge we faced was making sure that the wings are placed exactly at the same position and angle, since the positioning of the wings played a big part in keeping the plane stable while it flew. Overall, I enjoyed the time we had spent working in the design lab.

Prototype:

Strengths – The plane is very light and strong for its size, it can fly a fair distance, around 5 to 6 meters. The joints where the wing connects with the fuselage of the plane are very strong. We used super glue in combination with hot glue to secure the wing onto the main body.

Refinement – One major aspect of the plane that needs refinement is the glue. A lot of the glue is left on the joints, which makes the plane look very poorly made. Another refinement that I would really have liked to make was to cut the wings into the shape of an actual plane. This will help significantly with the aerodynamics of the plane. Furthermore, I would like to have flaps at the end of the main wing so that the plane would have a natural curve on the wing, allowing it to continuously point upward, and not crash head-on into the ground.

Feedbacks:

Ophelia: “Clean up the glue, add propeller, concept is good” – Using this feedback, I will make sure that I don’t put too much glue on the joints of the plane, which will make it look very bad. I will also make sure that the plane has a propeller that can power the plane forward.

Aidan: “This is a dangerous fin – stabilised projectile, however it is a good concept” – Using this feedback, I will have to change the front of the plane so that it is safer. The front of the plane right now holds a magnet to balance the weight in the back, I think that instead of adding too weight in the front, I could instead decrease the weight in the back to balance the plane better.

Summary:

1. Figure out a way to add the propeller and to make it actually power the plane through the air.
2. Clean up the messy glue at the joints of the plane.
3. Make the plane safer for our audience, which includes small kids.

If we had more time available to use we would have figured out a way to lessen the friction of the propeller spinning against the small piece of straw. We would also have cleaned up the messy glue used to attach the wings onto the body. We would also have decreased the weight both in the front and in the back of the plane to make it less dangerous but still balanced.

 

 

 

We first thought of using 3D printing to design most of the plane. However, the weight of the plastic will definitely make the plane drop out of the sky and since our toy is made for children, the plane falling out of the sky might hit them and cause injuries. We then thought of making the main wing out of a plastic straw and a sheet of a4 paper. However, the combination of paper and straw was too weak to hold up the wing, which will not provide any lift for the plane, resulting in the plane falling out of the sky. If the plane cannot fly and stay airborne for a long time, it wouldn’t be fun for the kids.

For the propeller, we thought of using the clear plastic in the bottles that are sold at Sodexo. It is perfect, lightweight as well as having a slight bend making it perfect for the material of the propeller. We will add two sets of propellers because, in the original video, the plane only flew a very short distance before falling to the ground. Doing this will make the plane capable of flying further distances, making it more entertaining for the kids.

Here are the measurements for our plane:

Materials:

hot glue gun, super glue, 2 big paper straws, 3 small plastic straws, a board of foam, paper, 1 metal hook, 1 plastic cup, a small piece of plastic stick, rubber bands.

Detailed Plan:

1. Join 2 big paper straws together and cut to 35 centimeters.
2. Poke a hole in the middle of the fuselage using scissors. (At around 18 cm)
3. Attach a smaller plastic straw through the hole and secure with super glue.
4. Attach another small plastic straw at around 10 cm using the above method.
5. Cover the plastic straw using 2 sheets of a4 paper on both sides of the plane.
6. Cut the shape of two horizontal stabilizers out of foam.
7. Attach the two stabilizers to the end of the plane on both sides using super glue and secure using hot glue gun.
8. Cut the shape of the vertical stabilizer out of foam.
9. Attach the stabilizer to the back of the plane perpendicular to the two horizontal stabilizers.
10. Cut two pieces of plastic off from the plastic cup.
11. Using the two pieces of plastic, cut 2 pieces of plastic in the shape of propellers.
12. Attach to each other using a small piece of plastic stick. (Make sure they are faced in the opposite direction of each other)
13. Attach the middle part of the plastic stick to a metal hook.
14. Cut a very short piece off of the 3rd plastic straw.
15. Using that piece, fit the metal hook through and connect it to a long rubber band.
16. Using super glue, attach the small piece of plastic straw onto the front bottom side of the main fuselage.
17. Cut another small piece of plastic straw from the 3rd long plastic straw.
18. At the back of the plane, glue the plastic straw at the bottom side using super glue.
19. Fit the rubberband through the hole and secure it onto the straw using super glue.

 

Success Criteria:

The plane must be able to stay airborne for at least 3 seconds

The plane must be stable while airborne (Not swinging from left to right)

The plane must make use of the propeller.

The plane must make use of straws and paper or foam.

The plane must make use of one energy conversion. (E.g. Elastic Potential to Kinetic)

What is the purpose of your device/toy, how does it function, and who is your user?

The purpose of the elastic band plane is to entertain people. The propeller of the plane will be rotated in the opposite direction to charge up the rubberband, and then released, the rubberband will rotate the propeller and power the plane forward. This toy can be used by a lot of people, anyone that is bored may play with it. The toy is dangerous for small children because it may hit them in the head.

What is the environmental impact of your product and is it durable and safe?

There are barely any environmental impacts of the elastic band plane as it uses only a rubberband to power. However, the plastic cup that is used cannot be easily recycled. The foam wings we plan to use for the back horizontal and vertical stabilizers are also not very easily recycled and can cause damage to the environment. The plane itself isn’t quite as durable since the wings are primarily made out of paper, which can be cut easily. It is safe for most people except for small children because it might hit, which can cause some injuries.

What precedents inspired you? what did you take away from them & how did it inform your choices?

We were inspired by the video “How to Make a Rubber Band Plane Out of Paper – Very EASY” by JoshBuilds. We plan to take away the idea of using the rubberband as the main power. However, we plan to increase the number of propellers to 2, since the video showed the power of one propeller. We want to improve the experience by adding a second so that the plane could fly further and faster.

How are you making your product original and/or using creativity?

We will be trying to make the original product better by adding 2 sets of propellers to the plane. The original plane had only one set, so adding another will not only make the plane fly further, but will also increase the speed and provide a better experience for the kids.

“Items”

This photo relates to my original intent. The photo shows a few of the items I own, from these items the audience can see my personalities and hobbies. For example the earphone case my signifies that I like listening to music. The messiness of the drawer also shows that I am not a very organized person.

• What have you experimented with to help you develop your ideas for the project? How have you built on what you have done before?

I have experimented with the lighting of the photo, I took photos with the lights in my room positioned at different angles so that everything could be lit at all times. I also took photos when there was natural sunlight. I eventually chose the one that used natural sunlight, since it made everything less saturated, also making the photo look more natural and comfortable to the eye. Unlike the photo where the desk lamp shines on it, making it look a lot more yellow, as well as ruining the feeling of depth in the photo.

• What is the idea behind this series of images and how does it bring together the best parts of your previous experiments?

The idea behind this series of image is to show one’s personality and identity through the items they own and store in their drawers. This last series of images did not use the black and white tone in the previous two sets, since these photos must show the items clearly so that the audience can recognize them with ease. In the first few photos, the lighting from the desk lamps were just too bright, making everything have a yellowish tint to it. I waited until there was natural sunlight on the next day so that I could try with sunlight. It worked a lot better and the whole photo looks more realistic and was more comfortable for the eyes.

• Which artist(s) inspired the presentation and how? How does your presentation link to your inspirational images/artist

Tom Teodosijev’s images are the main inspirations for this set. This photo expands on the idea of looking at one’s identity through their items by having things that are completely unrelated to each other, but altogether shows the lifestyle and personality of the owner.

• Composition – Do all the elements of the display support the subject?

Mostly, for example the earphone case signifies that I am a person who likes music, the messy way that the items are put in represents that I am an unorganized person.

• Where are your eyes immediately drawn? Where do you want the eyes to go?

I want the eyes to be drawn directly to do items in the drawer, since that is my main subject. For me, my eyes go directly to the items since they are the most colorful part of the photo.

• Are there distractions that take away from the strength of the images?

No, there are no other objects that is stealing attention or taking away strength of the images.

• Story telling quality – How do they tell the story you set out to tell (vision/intent)?

The different items in the photograph represents different hobbies and personalities that I have.

• Emotional Impact – How well does your audience identify with the picture? What emotions captured in your portrait will cause the audience to respond positively? (Get feedback from others for this part)

Although my photograph does not contain any specific feelings that may resonate with the audience, I think that the audience can all agree that through the belongings of people, we can see their lifestyle, their passions, their personality, and identity.

The title of this project is probably going to be “Items”. This project is inspired by Tom Teodosijev, the intent of this project is to let the audience see one’s identity through the items they own. For example, we can see from a box of messy and colored paintbrushes that the owner is an artist, a messy one at that. I will take pictures of my own drawers that contain my past items, showing people the life I live. I will take the photo from above the drawer, making sure that everything inside the drawer is included in the photo.

Moodboard:

These photos are great examples of Tom’s work. It can be seen that none of the items in the photograph are purposely straight of organized, they are placed naturally by Tom. Another thing I must take note is the position of the light. It must not cast a shadow of the phone when I take the photo, which is going to be hard. The edges of these photos are kept outside the edges of the drawer, which in my opinion makes the photo look better. The items in these photos are quite related to each other, making it easier for the audience to see the owner’s passion and the life they live.

Final Photo:

I am quite happy with the way this photo came out. Although it was really hard to get the edges of the drawer to be straight, I managed to do it at last. The lighting was great since there are no shadows in the photograph. One aspect I would like to improve on is to have only 1 layer of items, instead of many layers making the items behind them not visible. Another improvement that I would like to make if i were to do this again is to find a smaller drawer with multiple layers that are filled with stuff. Although this drawer is filled with stuff, there is just one photo.

The title of this project is probably going to be “Half”. With this project, I’m exploring the issue of how people act while different people are around. We see only just a part of someone’s true identity when they are around. People like to present their best traits to other people while hiding traits that aren’t as good. I will be using double exposure to create an illusion of the “good traits”, as well as make sure the model is wearing a mask to represent the made-up traits. I will take inspiration from photos that use double exposure and a black background. I will make sure that the whole face is illuminated, while the background is kept dark. I hope that my artwork will resonate with the audience.

This is what I would like to achieve, but with different expressions with their hands. Body language is extremely important for my photos, because i will be hiding the model’s face. Double exposure looks as if there are two souls in a body, I need this effect since it makes the subject look to have different souls. I’m need to make sure that the subject is in the same place in both the photos so it looks as if it is one photo.

This photo didn’t really turn out to be what I had in mind, however it still fits the theme. I did have the effect of the double exposure like I said. But in the first photo, the hands on his lap is not visible, which makes the end result look as if it is just one photo.

 

I would like to explore some issues in society. One really appealing to me is when people tell us that our dreams aren’t as worthy as a single number on a piece of paper, and when people deny us of our capability to achieve our dreams.

I want to express a feeling of being controlled by other people through my photos in this project. Many parents control their children’s future; they plan everything beforehand, leaving no choice for the kids to make themselves. One photographer that had done something similar is Richard Burbridge. His photos with people wearing masks signify a feeling of control. I plan on making the photos have a dark and moody feel, preferably with a foggy texture. I would also like to have the pictures be black and white, which emits a sense of sadness. However, in Richard Burbridge’s photographs, some photos are actually colored while still showing a depressed feeling.

Mood Board:

This photo is an excellent example of the feeling I want to try to achieve. I want to have a black and white background, with a few colored bits that leak a sense of sadness and depression.

This photo is taken by Richard Burbridge. It uses a black-and-white tone, emitting a depressed and sad feeling.

This photo is also very nice, it gives out a feeling of loneliness, which is partly what I want to achieve.

The gloomy feel and the black and white tone sets a perfect background feel for the photo. The hand controlling the doll also expresses a feeling of control. I want to try to aim for photos like this. A gloomy background, and a subject that can show control.

This somewhat resembles the background I would like to have, an empty void of black with some fog.

Statement of Intent

The title of this project is probably going to be “Control” with this project, I’m exploring the social issue of how people’s dreams are not respected or viewed as important as what their elders had planned for them. “A number on a sheet of paper is all that matters” is now the motto for many parents, and what many kids work day and night to achieve. But people forget their reason for being here, to make a difference, not to be controlled like robots, doing the same thing over and over and over again. Now, with so many things available to us, we have to dispose of the old generation’s visions and follow our hearts. I want my photos to make the audience feel connected and empathetic. Everyone’s dreams should be treated with respect, not like a joke, and easily disposed of. I want the audience to strive for what they dream of becoming, not what their elders or peers want them to become. I will get inspiration and develop my ideas by looking for photographs that have nostalgic backgrounds, a void of darkness, like the hole that people have fallen in, following their elder’s lead.

Arthur Rothstein

Almost all of Arthur Rothstein’s photographs are taken in black and white. The scenes in the photograph feel really nostalgic and sad. For example his photo “Fleeing a dust storm” shows 2 kids with their father running to a broken down shack in the desert. Another example is a photo from the great depression. The black and white tone along with the broken down shack makes the photo look sad.

The black and white tone is used throughout Arthur Rothstein’s photos. I think that Arthur is trying to make his photos have a sad and depressing feeling. A majority of his photos include a broken down house in a very poor environment, with really poor looking people. For example the father in the photo “Fleeing a dust storm” looks extremely depressed, running into a broken down shack with his children. Furthermore, a lot of his photos are taken with a horizon line. For example, again, the photo “Fleeing a dust storm” has a visible line of horizon in the distance. Other photos from the dust bowl collection also have visible horizon lines.

The 4 images I chose all have black and white tones. 3 of which feature people, another one consists of only a building. They all have a feeling of sadness, especially the 4th photo, “Son of Sharecropper”. We can visually see the despair in the boy’s eyes. I want to implement that in my own photos. I will definitely be using a black and white tone. I have chosen this artist because the people in his photos look actually alive. The expressions on their faces are very obvious, which is what I really like about Arthur Rothestein.

The first 3 photos I chose have visible horizon lines, which makes them look like they belong with eachother. The first photo shows a man with his two children, in a dust storm running back to their broken down shack. The whole scene looks sad enough, but with the black and white tone it feels as if they had been forgotten. The second photos shows a house that has been devastated by a dust storm, sand piled outside the window and inside the house, even though the photo does not feature any people, it still gives the audience that feeling of despair. The third photo shows a man with his son digging holes for what I am assuming are fences to trap the cows from escaping. The black and white tone is what makes the photo really sad. The last photo is one of a boy, the expressions on his face look extremely realistic, I can feel how miserable the boy is through the looks on his face.

CONTENT

The subject of the photo is the man with his two children running to their broken down shelter to escape a dust storm. Their shelter is made of broken pieces of wood strapped together using some sort of cloth. The children in the back looks to be very young, and looks like they think that they are playing. The young children’s innocence really contrasts the harsh environment they live in, making people feel empathy for them.

The setting in the photo was probably a desert during the great depression, as a lot of photos by Arthur Rothestein was taken at that time. There isn’t much detail in the background, due to the black and white tone.

The man and the kid beside him looks old and in a hurry, trying to get to the shelter to be protected from the sand storm. However, the children in the back looks to be playing, the children’s innocence contrasts greatly to the harsh environment they live in.

The three characters in the photo are trying to escape from a dust storm, which is very common in deserts. We can see from this photo the power of nature, it also acts as a warning to not mess with nature.

The photographer is standing pretty far from the people.

The three characters and then the shelter because thats is where they are faced and headed.

The horizon line is the most noticeable, since it separates the ground and sky.

There is barely any light in the photo, since it is all black and white. I would assume that the lightest part of the photo is in the sky.

The people and the shack is the main subject.

The people running to the shack, since they have contrast with the background.

The photo is very sad.

The lighting and the people and broken down shack makes me feel sad and miserable, since people should be living in conditions bette then that.

I think that the intended effects is to create empathy. Since the photo is taken in such a sad way, the author probably wanted to make the audiences feel sad.

Final Photo:

I feel that this photo fits the theme. The lack of people. creates a depressing feeling. The silvertone filter I used make the photo look pretty similar to Arthur Rothstein. The horizon line is visible like Arthur’s photo.

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• These are my yellow images, I picked these images because some of them have reflective windows that reflected some part of the other side of the building.These are my green images, they fit my vision well, but I would like more nostalgia in them.

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• I chose these three photographs because they look a lot like each other. However, each is unique in its own way. For example, in the photograph on the left, the shape that the building on the right makes seems to fit with the left side. In the second photo, the glass on the lower half of the building reflects the side of a building that looks much older and less – modern than the building that is on top of it. This combines the idea from my first set about nostalgia, it seems as if the glass reflected the buildings history. The third photograph also uses reflections. The left right side of the photograph consists of glass that reflected the view from the right. It makes the photograph look symmetrical. The three photographs also have a few things in common. The first being the color scheme, they all use a deep dark blue as the main color, and a much lighter baby blue as the sky. It creates harmony between the photos, making them look like they belong in the same set.
• Which artist has inspired your project and how?

Andrea Stone’s photography really inspired me through the use of windows as a way to show a picture. I implemented the use of windows in my images and it turned out very good.

• How do your images link to your inspirational images?

My images link to the inspirational images because they both show a scene through the window. For example, in the photo on the right side of the triptych the glass on the left reflected the view from the right, making them look as if they are symmetrical.

• What have you experimented further with to help you develop your ideas for the project?

I experimented with different angles of taking the photos. I wanted to have a middle line that went through the entire triptych. So I tried different angles when taking the photos to make sure that there was a line in the middle of every photo. The line also makes them look like they belong in a set together.

• How have you built on what you have done before?

Yes, I implemented some parts of my first set about decrepit buildings and combined the idea of the 2 sets together into one photo. The middle line in this photo acted as a separation between the “present” and the “past”.

• What is the idea behind your final series of images, and how does it bring together the best parts of your previous projects?

The idea behind my final series of images is to combine both the feeling of nostalgia with modern architecture. I wanted my first set to capture a sense of nostalgia along with a feeling of hope. My second set used windows to reflect a scene from around the building. In the 2nd photo of my triptych, I combined both elements into one. The top half of the photo shows the building right now. Coincidentally, the bottom half of the photo reflects another building that looks much older at the same exact angle. Making it look as if it has been reflected from the past.

• How did you create your final series of images?

I wanted to combine the idea of the first set, which is nostalgia, with the use of windows in the second set. I first experimented with the windows at my home, however there were hardly anything to reflect off of it nor was there anything that created a feeling of nostalgia. I then moved on to the building where I take a class. The building looked really good on the outside, full of very reflective glass windows. I picked a time when it was sunny and went out to take photos.

• What are the overall strengths of your project and why?

I think that the overall strengths of my projects are the fact that they look as if they belong to the same set. My first set didn’t really look as if they belonged together because there wasn’t much in common between them. In the final triptych however, the color, the style, and the line in the middle makes them look as if they belong as one.

• What are your areas for development – what do you need to work on in future projects.

I think that I can improve on choosing the right time and angle to take the photos. The reason why is because in the 3rd photo of the last set, the sky was completely white, which made it look different from the other two photos. Another improvement I would make to my project is include multiple colors, instead of just multiple shades of blue.