This year's winning entries are as follows:
First Place
Miranda Swineford
School: Bernal Intermediate School, San Jose, CA
Sponsoring Teacher: Daniel Judnick
Passenger Airplanes: How Large Can They Get?
How big can passenger airplanes get? There are some key factors
to answer. First, you must know the basics of airplanes. There are four forces
that continually act upon airplanes: lift, thrust, drags, and weight. Lift and
thrust are the forces that help the planes fly, drag and weight, are the
opposite reactions; just like Newton's third law of physics. Lift is what makes
the plane stay up, and weight is the gravity acting upon the plane. Thrust makes
the plane go forward, and drag pulls it back.
To make a large aerodynamic plane you have to make it so it is
light weight, and sleek. The would counter the drag and weight. I would build
the walls with titanium carbon fiber composite. Then the walls would be very
strong and light weight, so nothing can get through the walls. There would be
fewer windows, just to keep the plane nice and light. I would make it very long;
longer than even a 747 airplanes. With a nice strong engine that could counter
drag, and manage the weight of the plane, it would definitely work. I think that
a plane could be developed that would carry thousands instead of hundreds, as
long as it was developed correctly.
The seats could be lighter, there could be luggage weight
requirements. So many things could be done just to make airplanes more
efficient. With all of my suggestions, we could pollute the air less, because
there would be fewer planes in the air. There would also be fewer chances of
collisions. The possibilities are endless. Remember: sleek, light, and powerful.
There can be some huge planes.
-------- Second
Charlotte Swenson
Bernal Intermediate School, San Jose, CA
Sponsoring Teacher: Daniel Judnick
Space Airplanes
What is the future for airplanes? Well, personally, I thought it
was a great accomplishment just creating the Airbus A380. If you are not
familiar with the Airbus A380, it is the largest passenger plane in flight. It
can hold up to 853 people, the most number. What can we do now? Just improve!
The first thought, would be to combine the rocket with the
airplane. but there are a lot of things you have to incorporate; the size of the
plane vs. the wingspan, or how much the planes can with stand for speed. Also,
if we thought of the type of engines that are on space shuttles, there is the
problem with landing. How could you slow down enough to land?
One option would be put the rocket engines AND jet engines. You
can get up into the air with the rocket engines and fly most the way to your
destination. Once you get to a certain area, than you would switch to jet
engines so that you could slow yourself down. Now, how big could we get these?
Well, consider the fact that the bigger the area inside, the
more of a wing span and thrust you would need to get up into the air. Also,
adding the jet engines might need to increase the wingspan, and lessen the
amount of people. It's hard to get rid of stuff, and get used to the new, but it
could work out in the end!
-------- Third
Angela Amarosa
Bernal Intermediate School, San Jose, CA
Sponsoring Teacher: Daniel Judnick
Future Plane Travel
Planes of the future could get fast, large, and energy
efficient. But, how would all that change the design of the plane? Would the
plane be made of the same materials or run on the same kind of fuel? All of
these factors are important when considering building a future plane. Of course,
cost may be the most significant aspect of future plane genesis.
Today's plane models are essentially all the same shape.
However, future plane designs would be streamlined like the Concord jet of the
past. The design would be cost efficient because it would fly faster using less
fuel. Changing the way our planes look could be profitable because people will
take pleasure in traveling on a sleek, futuristic plane. The airlines' lucrative
planes could make up for the building costs.
On the other hand, planes could get huge, as in the movie
Flight Plan. They
might have two levels, a lounging area, and a mini-restaurant. Equality is what
the planes of the future would achieve; there would be no first or economy
class. Comfort of the passengers is necessary for long or overnight flights.
Future planes could fulfill future passengers' needs by reducing engine noise,
provide sleeper chairs, and personal entertainment systems. These
accommodations' costs will be off-set by profits from fuel savings, and
passenger allegiance.
Planes of the future will open more doors in both domestic and
international travel. What matters for the company owners is the money made.
What matters for the passenters is comfort and speed. Future plane designs, with
their energy conservation and sleek beauty, will be people wanting to go on an
adventure by airplane.
Held each year to commemorate the first manned landing on the moon, AIAA SF
sponsors an essay contest for 7th and 8th graders. U.S. Savings Bonds of varying
denominations are awarded to the first, second, and third place winners in each
grade. The theme for this year's contest was: "How big can passenger
airplanes get, and what will they look like? " We received a total of
50 essays this year. We thank the following reviewers for their
participation in judging: Pallavi Shah, Prasad Gogineni, Todd Farley,
Yatin Kathpalia.