Forces of Flight 3: ​Rubberband Helicopters

October 22, 2025 - For our 3rd "Forces of Flight" project, Room B1 Engineers were back at work, this time, they built a rubberband-powered helicopter using propellers and popsicle sticks. When they finished constructing, the students went outside to test their helicopters.
Energy is stored (potential) in the rubber band by winding the propeller. When flown, the rubber band rapidly releases its energy (kinetic) by unwinding, which turns the propeller and LIFTS the helicopter into the air, overcoming GRAVITY. The fuselage creates DRAG which slows the popsicle stick's spinning, in turn, allows the propeller to spin faster.
We had a lot of fun learning the forces of flight in this STEM project.