Todd Shamitko

39-245 Project 1

Concept #3

Army Flyer

Army Flyer consists of a launching mechanism that aids in the flight of light weighted wooden aircraft. The principle this toy is based on is the memory and elasticity of a rubber band to spin the propellor in one sudden burst when released. This toy is an improvement on the early flyers, that contained planes not capable of making an impressive flight. The following is the side view of the proposed concept.

The child’s interaction with this toy starts with the preflight preparations in order to make sure the plane is in the right place all the way to the launching of the aircraft for a long adventurous flight. Once the plane is placed in the guide, the operator can then turn the knob located in the rear of the gun. Because of the gear mechanism located in the rear of the gun that only allows motion in one direction, the rubber band is twisted until tight. Once the child has twisted the rubber band to it’s desired tension, he/she can take careful aim and then pull the trigger. By pulling the trigger, the child releases the front gear from it locked position, allowing the rubber band to return to original position and release the energy it took to twist it up. The energy released is then transferred to the propellor, which creates the force necessary for flight. The plane will then sail on a flawless flight due to the light weight wooden material and the ideally placed counterweights found on the tail.

The construction for this toy is simple with the majority of the launching mechanism being plastic, some metal coils, and a rubber band. The plane is made from a wooden sheet of very thin thickness with a plastic propellor and counter weight. So looking at the construction, the total cost of this should be around $5, with replacement planes available at about $1 apiece.

Finally, to safely and responsibly use this toy the child should be told not to aim it in any direction where there are people or objects.