The built Hydraulic Plane Launcher kit

Smartivity bonus

Hydraulic Plane Launcher bonus activities

4 missions and 3 tinker tests. Can you win all 7 stars?

Four new things to try with your Hydraulic Plane Launcher. None of them are in the manual. Pick one, or try them all this week.

0 of 7 done

Tap Done! on a mission to win its star.

Your missions

  1. Mission 1 of 4

    Runway landing

    • Bath towel
    • 2+ players

    Lay a bath towel on the floor 2 big steps away as a runway. Each player launches 3 planes. 1 point for touching the runway, 3 for stopping on it.

  2. Mission 2 of 4

    Basket target

    • Basket or bucket

    Turn a laundry basket or a bucket on its side on the floor 3 big steps away. How many of 5 planes fly into it?

  3. Mission 3 of 4

    Your own airline

    • Paper + pencil

    Name your airline, draw its logo on the wings and give each plane a flight number. Keep a log of which plane flies best.

  4. Mission 4 of 4

    Hydraulics hunt

    • Look around
    • Paper + pencil

    Your launcher pushes water through a tube to move a part. Look for the same idea in real life: a JCB digger arm, a tipper truck, a garbage truck or a car's brakes. Draw one you found.

Tinker it

Change one thing. Guess. Test 3 times. Write it down.

  1. Tinker test 1 of 3

    Tilt the launch angle

    • Thin book
    • Sticky notes

    What you'll change: Put a thin book under one edge of the Launcher Base so the launcher points a little higher or a little lower.

    1. Use the same paper plane every time. Launch it 3 times as built and put a sticky note where it lands each time.
    2. Predict: will the plane fly farther with the launcher pointing higher or lower? Write down your guess.
    3. Slide a thin paperback book (about 1 cm thick, like a thin notebook) under the front edge of the Launcher Base, the end the plane flies toward, so it points higher. Launch 3 times and mark each landing with a new colour of note.
    4. Move the book under the back edge so the launcher points lower. Launch 3 times and mark each landing.
    5. Count steps to every note and write down the best one for each setting. Which angle won? Was your guess right?

    What's going on: Tilting the launcher changes how much of the push sends the plane up and how much sends it forward. Too steep and the plane slows down, stalls and drops. Too flat and it hits the floor sooner.

    Safety and undo: Use one thin book and keep the whole Launcher Base on the book and the table, away from the table edge. If the launcher shifts when it fires, a grown-up holds the back of the base flat with one hand, away from the top. Launch toward an empty space, never at faces or pets. To undo, take the book out.

  2. Tinker test 2 of 3

    Wings in a V

    • Masking tape
    • Same plane every time

    What you'll change: The angle of both wings where they meet the plane's body: flat, a small V, or an upside-down V.

    1. Stick a long strip of masking tape on the floor, straight out from the front of the launcher. This is your flight line. Load one paper plane, press both wings out flat in a straight line, and launch 3 times. Each time, count how many foot-lengths from the line it lands.
    2. Predict: will wings tipped up into a V fly straighter or wobblier than flat wings? Write down your guess.
    3. Load the same plane. Lift both wings at the middle fold until each tip is about a finger-width higher, making a shallow V. Keep the wing tips themselves uncurled. Launch 3 times and count again.
    4. Now bend both wings down a finger-width into an upside-down V. Launch 3 times and count.
    5. Which shape landed closest to the line most often? Was your guess right?

    What's going on: In a V, if the plane rolls to one side, the lower wing gets more lift and pushes the plane back level, so it flies straighter. Real airplanes use this; it is called dihedral. With wings bent down, the effect works the other way, so the plane tends to roll and curve off.

    Safety and undo: Launch only toward an empty space, never at faces or pets. Use masking tape because it peels off the floor. To undo, press the wings flat again or fold a fresh plane from the book.

  3. Tinker test 3 of 3

    Balance point

    • Masking tape
    • Same tape, new spot

    What you'll change: Where one small ball of masking tape sits on the paper plane: at the nose or at the tail.

    1. Launch the same paper plane 3 times with nothing added and put a sticky note where it lands each time.
    2. Scrunch an 8 cm strip of masking tape into a small ball. Predict: will the plane fly farther with the tape at the nose or at the tail? Write down your guess.
    3. Press the tape ball onto the top of the plane, right at the nose. Check the plane still sits on the launcher the same way. Launch 3 times and mark each landing with a new colour of note.
    4. Move the same tape ball to the back end of the plane. Launch 3 times and mark each landing.
    5. Count steps to every note. How did each plane fly: did it dive, glide, or nose up and drop? Was your guess right?

    What's going on: Every plane has a balance point, called the centre of gravity, where its weight acts. The tape's weight stays the same; only the balance point moves. Nose-heavy planes tip down and dive. Tail-heavy planes tip their nose up, slow down, stall and drop.

    Safety and undo: Launch only toward an empty space, never at faces or pets. Tape goes only on the paper plane, never on the launcher. To undo, peel the tape off or fold a fresh plane from the book.

Safety first: Launch toward an empty space, never at faces or pets.

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