The World of Balsa Gliders: A DIY Project with CNC Machines

I recently had the opportunity to work on a fun project that combines woodworking, aerodynamics, and creativity - building balsa gliders. In this article, I'll share my experience with the process, from designing and cutting out the wings and tail to flying the gliders and learning about aerodynamics.

To start, I needed to cut out the wings and tail of the glider. I chose a material that is 1 inch thick, which made it easy to work with and allowed me to create precise cuts. The CNC machine I used made quick work of cutting out the slots for the wings and tail, and I was able to create intricate designs and curves. However, if you don't have access to a CNC machine, an X-Acto knife can also be used to cut out the glider.

After cutting out the parts, I decided to sculpt them a little bit using a rasp. This allowed me to shape the wings and cockpit area into more aerodynamic shapes, even though I don't know much about aerodynamics myself. The front of the glider needed some weight, so I screwed in a heavy screw to stabilize it. When I finished assembling the glider, I used Sharpie markers to decorate it and add some personality.

The first flight was exciting, but not without its challenges. Unfortunately, my styrofoam glider didn't work very well, while my balsa glider performed better. I learned that the shape of the wings and tail makes a big difference in aerodynamics, so I made adjustments to my next attempt. The balla glider also had some issues with flying due to its density, but it was still fun to test out different wing positions and weights.

As I continued testing and experimenting, I realized that making balsa gliders is not just about cutting out parts and assembling them - it's also about understanding aerodynamics. If you want to make a glider that flies well, you need to consider the shape of the wings and tail, as well as the weight distribution and wing position.

One thing I noticed during my testing was how important it was to throw the glider at the right angle. If I held the glider back or didn't use enough force, it would stall in mid-air. On the other hand, if I threw it from directly beneath the wing, it seemed to fly better. This experience taught me that small adjustments can make a big difference when it comes to aerodynamics.

The project was also great for kids because they could decorate their own gliders and experiment with different designs and shapes. One of the best things about this project is that it allows children to learn about science and technology in a fun and interactive way. By making small adjustments and observing the results, kids can develop problem-solving skills and learn about cause-and-effect relationships.

If you're interested in trying out balsa gliders or have knowledge of aerodynamics that you'd like to share with others, there's a great channel called Flight Test that covers all sorts of topics related to flight and aircraft design. I've linked their channel in the description below for those who want to learn more.

For those who are interested in CNC woodworking and other DIY projects, I have a Patreon page where you can support my work and access exclusive content. Patrons get early access to new videos, behind-the-scenes insights, and other perks that make them feel like part of our community.

In conclusion, building balsa gliders is a fun and rewarding project that allows you to combine creativity with science and technology. Whether you're a seasoned woodworker or just starting out, this project offers a great opportunity to learn about aerodynamics and experiment with different designs and shapes.

"WEBVTTKind: captionsLanguage: enhey I'm Bob and I like to make stuff today we're going to make gliders I designed my glider in illustrator but you could also use inkscape or many of the other free options for design software I put out some points and made a general plain design just kind of out of my head not following anything in particular and made sure to put slots for the wings and the tail the wings were just made from a rounded rectangle and then I move the end points the wing tips back a little bit I copied that shape for the tail as well I brought all these through an SVG file into easel and then copied the wings and the tail out to a separate project they'll be cut out of thinner stock for the body I was using 3 32 in balls of wood that I got at a craft store I cut it down to a piece about 17 in long but you could do it to whatever turned on the X carve and let the machine run this stuff is super soft and super thin so it can cut through it very very quickly you can up your settings quite a bit then the body was ready you can see the thickness difference because the wings were going to be cut out of 1/16th Balsa now in this case I forgot to put tabs in and it actually ruined the tail so I had to recut the tail and the wings at the same time you can see the tabs here are left not cut out by the machine to hold the piece in place until you're ready to take it out when the cut was complete I used a utility knife to cut the pieces free and trim off any of the extra tab that was left on the pieces as long as the slots are the same thickness as your material the tail and the wings will slide right in you can adjust the wings forward and backward and I decided to give it a test flight and it actually worked I experimented with waiting the front with different size and different numbers of paper clips once I found something that worked there I decorated the plane a little bit then I decided to try something bigger I got a piece of 2tx 2T Styrofoam insulation from one of the big box stores and scaled up my design about 50% the only change I had to make was to increase the size of the slot that was cut for the wings and the tail this material is 1 in thick so I just had to make the inside of those cuts also 1 in this stuff Cuts really fast and easy as well with the pieces out I decided to sculpt them a little bit using a rasp I was trying to get a better Wing shape although I really don't know anything about aerodynamics so I may have done more harm than good I don't know it slid in fine and then I shaped the front and the cockpit area just because I was already making a mess I knew the front of this would need a little bit of weight so I screwed in a big heavy screw here's what I ended up with the Sharpie decorated Balsa glider and a big pink styrofoam glider let's see how they go first flight the styrofoam was a big failure Balsa was pretty good in fact the Balsa seem to do better every single time the styrofoam I tried lots of options for moving the wings it just didn't work very well the balla you could adjust the wings and get it to do different things so I know one of the first comments are going to be why do you need a CNC machine you could do that with an X-Acto Knife and you're absolutely right you could by using a CNC machine the cuts are going to be a lot more exact and doing curves is probably going to be cleaner on a machine rather than using a knife but it's totally possible in my case I'm thinking ahead to birthday parties I have four kids and so birthday parties are really big and we have a lot of people around and if I wanted every kid to have one of these to play with I'm not going to cut them all out by hand I'm going to be doing this on the CNC machine cutting out a whole bunch of them and then just having the kids put them together but if you're just making one or two of course you can use a knife for this you could even use a knife for this one and it would probably work just as well so as far as flyability like I said before I know nothing about aerodynamics and so I probably shaped These Wings totally wrong if you know more about it then you could probably shape this one to fly really well it's a nice dense foam maybe it's too dense I'm not really sure but for me this one didn't really fly very well if you want to spend the time to design it correctly I'm sure you could probably get it flying it was a cool test though this one actually flew really well for me and I think with a little bit more knowledge and research on the correct Wing shape and all that stuff you can probably make it Fly even better when I bought these as a kid often times the wing was actually bent up a little bit and I'm sure that you could do that by soaking this in water and bending it right along the center line letting it dry that way that would probably work fine I just didn't try it for this but I did find that how well it flew had a lot to do with where I put this Wing in the slot and how much weight I put on the front it also seemed to matter a whole lot where I threw it from if I held right beneath the wing and threw it from there it seemed to fly a lot better than if I held it back here so that's it a really simple project but it's great for kids because they can decorate the plane any way they want to and it's a way for them to experiment they can can change the amount of weight here they can slide the wing back and forth and try these things to see if it makes the flying better that's a chance for them to experiment and see an immediate result so hope you like this one and if you did let me know in the comments below or Al like toak stuff.com if you've got some knowledge of aerodynamics that you want to share with other people that are doing something like that you can leave it in the comments below also there's a channel that you might be interested in if you like this sort of thing called flight test I have no affiliation with them they're just great videos and a good Channel I'll put a link down in the description for them I would love to see some stuff that you are working on especially if you make some of these gliders so please share it with me on any of the social networks I've got a lot more CNC Woodworking and all sorts of project videos for you to check out and there's some playlists right here for you to find this if you like the videos that I make and you want to help support what I'm doing patreon is the best way to do that thanks for watching guys see you next time hey I'm Bob athey I'm Bob and I like to make stuff today we're going to make gliders I designed my glider in illustrator but you could also use inkscape or many of the other free options for design software I put out some points and made a general plain design just kind of out of my head not following anything in particular and made sure to put slots for the wings and the tail the wings were just made from a rounded rectangle and then I move the end points the wing tips back a little bit I copied that shape for the tail as well I brought all these through an SVG file into easel and then copied the wings and the tail out to a separate project they'll be cut out of thinner stock for the body I was using 3 32 in balls of wood that I got at a craft store I cut it down to a piece about 17 in long but you could do it to whatever turned on the X carve and let the machine run this stuff is super soft and super thin so it can cut through it very very quickly you can up your settings quite a bit then the body was ready you can see the thickness difference because the wings were going to be cut out of 1/16th Balsa now in this case I forgot to put tabs in and it actually ruined the tail so I had to recut the tail and the wings at the same time you can see the tabs here are left not cut out by the machine to hold the piece in place until you're ready to take it out when the cut was complete I used a utility knife to cut the pieces free and trim off any of the extra tab that was left on the pieces as long as the slots are the same thickness as your material the tail and the wings will slide right in you can adjust the wings forward and backward and I decided to give it a test flight and it actually worked I experimented with waiting the front with different size and different numbers of paper clips once I found something that worked there I decorated the plane a little bit then I decided to try something bigger I got a piece of 2tx 2T Styrofoam insulation from one of the big box stores and scaled up my design about 50% the only change I had to make was to increase the size of the slot that was cut for the wings and the tail this material is 1 in thick so I just had to make the inside of those cuts also 1 in this stuff Cuts really fast and easy as well with the pieces out I decided to sculpt them a little bit using a rasp I was trying to get a better Wing shape although I really don't know anything about aerodynamics so I may have done more harm than good I don't know it slid in fine and then I shaped the front and the cockpit area just because I was already making a mess I knew the front of this would need a little bit of weight so I screwed in a big heavy screw here's what I ended up with the Sharpie decorated Balsa glider and a big pink styrofoam glider let's see how they go first flight the styrofoam was a big failure Balsa was pretty good in fact the Balsa seem to do better every single time the styrofoam I tried lots of options for moving the wings it just didn't work very well the balla you could adjust the wings and get it to do different things so I know one of the first comments are going to be why do you need a CNC machine you could do that with an X-Acto Knife and you're absolutely right you could by using a CNC machine the cuts are going to be a lot more exact and doing curves is probably going to be cleaner on a machine rather than using a knife but it's totally possible in my case I'm thinking ahead to birthday parties I have four kids and so birthday parties are really big and we have a lot of people around and if I wanted every kid to have one of these to play with I'm not going to cut them all out by hand I'm going to be doing this on the CNC machine cutting out a whole bunch of them and then just having the kids put them together but if you're just making one or two of course you can use a knife for this you could even use a knife for this one and it would probably work just as well so as far as flyability like I said before I know nothing about aerodynamics and so I probably shaped These Wings totally wrong if you know more about it then you could probably shape this one to fly really well it's a nice dense foam maybe it's too dense I'm not really sure but for me this one didn't really fly very well if you want to spend the time to design it correctly I'm sure you could probably get it flying it was a cool test though this one actually flew really well for me and I think with a little bit more knowledge and research on the correct Wing shape and all that stuff you can probably make it Fly even better when I bought these as a kid often times the wing was actually bent up a little bit and I'm sure that you could do that by soaking this in water and bending it right along the center line letting it dry that way that would probably work fine I just didn't try it for this but I did find that how well it flew had a lot to do with where I put this Wing in the slot and how much weight I put on the front it also seemed to matter a whole lot where I threw it from if I held right beneath the wing and threw it from there it seemed to fly a lot better than if I held it back here so that's it a really simple project but it's great for kids because they can decorate the plane any way they want to and it's a way for them to experiment they can can change the amount of weight here they can slide the wing back and forth and try these things to see if it makes the flying better that's a chance for them to experiment and see an immediate result so hope you like this one and if you did let me know in the comments below or Al like toak stuff.com if you've got some knowledge of aerodynamics that you want to share with other people that are doing something like that you can leave it in the comments below also there's a channel that you might be interested in if you like this sort of thing called flight test I have no affiliation with them they're just great videos and a good Channel I'll put a link down in the description for them I would love to see some stuff that you are working on especially if you make some of these gliders so please share it with me on any of the social networks I've got a lot more CNC Woodworking and all sorts of project videos for you to check out and there's some playlists right here for you to find this if you like the videos that I make and you want to help support what I'm doing patreon is the best way to do that thanks for watching guys see you next time hey I'm Bob at\n"