Electric Wright Stuff

Electric Wright Stuff
Type	Engineering
Category	Build
Description	Prior to the tournament teams design, construct, and test free flight electric-powered monoplanes to achieve maximum time aloft.
Event Information
Latest Appearance	2022
Forum Threads
2022 2017 (Trial)
Additional Resources
Image Gallery	Link
Division B Results
1st Sierra Vista Middle School 2nd Kennedy Middle School 3rd Beckendorff Junior High School

Electric Wright Stuff was a Division B event during the 2022 season. It involves an airplane that must fly using a motor powered by a capacitor. In general, the capacitor provides the energy to help the airplane fly toward the ceiling of the room it is in, and then the plane uses its height to stay aloft for as long as possible.

It was previously ran as a Division C trial event at the 2017 National Tournament and as a Division B trial event at the 2011 National Tournament under the name Wright Stuff Capacitor.

Principles of Aerodynamics

How an Airplane Works.

For E-Wright Stuff (Electric Wright Stuff), it is important to understand the principles of aerodynamics. Experience with Wright Stuff or Elastic Launched Glider as a previous event are helpful as starting points. If new to flying events, it is very helpful to learn how airplanes work.

As seen in the image depicted below, planes work due to four core concepts: Thrust, Lift, Weight, and Drag. To get a successful E-Wright Stuff plane to work, the correct ratio for all four concepts of Thrust, Lift, Weight, and Drag must be found. Too much or too little of one or the other, and an E-Wright Stuff plane can fail catastrophically.

Lift of a plane wing.

Lift

Lift is the most important part of an E-Wright Stuff device. The effects of lift on a plane wing can be seen on the image at right. When building the device's wings, one should aim for a teardrop shape or a shape of similar properties, as it can ensure that lift occurs. Trial and error will help in finding what works for any particular device.

Weight

If a plane weighs too much, the amount of thrust and lift needed for flying increases. To help resolve this problem, use light balsawood to reduce any unnecessary weight. Keeping the plane light assures that it can fly and not crash and burn.

Thrust

Thrust is given to the E-Wright Stuff device by a small capacitor that powers a motor, contrary to Wright Stuff, where a rubber band powers it. This is the namesake of Electric Wright Stuff.

Drag

Drag is the main enemy in this event. The more drag a plane has, the more energy it takes for the plane to move. When adding a back rotor, keep note of this.

Build Materials

For a working E-Wright Stuff plane, materials along the line of the following are most likely to be needed.

• Balsawood for the body of the plane.
• Small capacitor to serve as the power source storage.
• Small motor with a propeller to provide thrust for the plane.
• Plastic bags to line the wings to have lift act on your plane.
• Glue to assemble the plane.
• X-Acto knife to cut all wood.
• Meter stick to measure the plane.
• Battery to charge the capacitor.
• Voltmeter to measure charge in the capacitor.

Example Build

An example of an Electric Wright Stuff plane.

Note the similarities to Wright Stuff.

External Links

2017 Trial Event Rules

2011 Trial Event Rules