Experimental Study on Factors Affecting Glider Flight Distance
Abstract
model with fixed tension and real-time wind data (Wong and Lim, 2017). Results show that a 1.5 launch angle combined with medium
tailwind produced the longest distance (8.07 m), whereas a 5 angle with light headwind resulted in early stall and the shortest distance (2.46
m). These findings confirm that small variations in angle of attack (AoA) and relative airspeed strongly influence lift generation in low-mass
gliders. The study also highlights the high sensitivity of balsa structures to turbulence and minor geometric deviations (Wu et al., 2020). Overall, the results provide practical guidelines for optimizing launch parameters and demonstrate the applicability of basic aerodynamic principles
to small-scale gliders.
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DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.70711/itr.v3i2.8659
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