Aerodynamics No. 192
October 1956

TOS home

This unit includes:

• a sheet of balsa wood, 0.05 inches (1.27 mm) thick, with deep cuts
  This sheet contained the wings and wing tips shown at left. The original sheet appears to have been 10 x 2.5 x 0.05 inches (254 x 63.5 x 1.27 mm) based on this reconstruction.
• a strip of wood, 2.5 x 0.25 x 0.1875 inches (63.5 x 6.35 x 4.7 mm) with square-cut ends
  Two grooves, each 0.05 inch (1.27 mm) wide by 0.1 inch (2.5 mm) deep, are cut along the 2.5" dimension in the 0.1875-inch sides. Although the booklet text implies that these are cut at angles of 30° from perpendicular (so that when the wings are inserted, they are canted upwards in a "V"), careful measurement shows that these angles are about 20° (so that the angle between the grooves is about 140°, consistent with the figure on page 3 of the booklet). The bottoms of the grooves are approximately centered on the 0.1875-inch side.
• two shorter strips of wood, 1.375 x 0.25 x 0.1875 inches (34.9 x 6.35 x 4.7 mm) with bevel-cut ends
  The booklet says that these pieces are 1.25 inches in length, but this is incorrect. The overall length is 1.5 inches, but the bevels reduce the length of the 0.1875-inch sides to 1.375 inches. These pieces also have grooves cut in the same way as the 2.5-inch strip (see the figures on pages 2 and 3 of the booklet).
• a piece of modelling clay to be used as a nose weight
• a 12-page booklet containing 14 experiments

The kit was shipped in an envelope with two sheets of cardboard for protection. The damage to the wings (evident in the photos) probably occurred after they had been detached from the original balsa sheet. The ruler in the photo provides a size reference; it is not part of the unit.

Balsa with a thickness of 0.05" (1.27 mm), as used in this unit, can be obtained from a few suppliers, including Solarbo USA and Lone Star Balsa. It is much easier to find 1/16" (1.6 mm) balsa.

TOS home