A Top Secret Report for Mon

Mothma
Rebel Pilots, 1st Class
Robby Ackles

Tuesday, September 8, 2015

Greetings Mon Mothma,

After an intensive process of research, experimentation and
analysis, I have found a paper airplane design that meets the requirements
of our upcoming mission to destroy the enemys forces.
My allies (Hanna, Junnifer, Erick) and I tested four different models
for potential aircrafts, our goal being to find the most accurate, precise,
and consistent prototype possible. As shown below in Figure 1, each one of
the airplanes had its own unique features that set it apart from the rest of
the pack. However, our team was trying to find the very
best
aircraft, so
we launched each model 15 times to see which one was the most successful
in a target 510 centimeters away. This would help us find which one would
be the most effective during the upcoming mission.

Figure 1: (From left to right - Design H, Design J, Design E & Design R)

The Designs
Design H was created with its most distinct characteristic being a
razor sharp point. This would help it cut through the air with both
speed and precision. On the other hand, Design J had a knack for air time
thanks to its aerodynamic wings, which helped it reach the target in a
matter of seconds. And while it may not have been constructed with the
strongest material, Design E was a fighter, bringing a clean but rough
approach to the testing period. With all that being said, Design R was
definitely the most creative, with no wings, tail or head. It relied on its
ability to catch air down the center opening, which was a technique that
none of the other designers had thought of before.

The Results
After sixty total attempts and tosses, the winner was revealed.
Design H!
A combination of all
three categories:
precision, accuracy and
consistency, Design H was
a fierce flyer, tearing up
the competition. As you
will find on the right in
Figure 2,
Design J
(Junnifers model)
was the most

Figure 2: Display of accuracy and standard deviation
accurate, but the
standard deviation was greater than that of Design H (Hannas model). This
caused it to be more inconsistent and therefore more unreliable to
achieve similar results each and every throw. As far as consistency went,
Design E (Ericks model) had the lowest standard deviation of 57.4, but
Design H was not far behind at 59.3. In fact, Design H landed the closest to
the target at 23 centimeters away, and it also had the second-lowest
average distance from the target at 130.7 centimeters.
Even though Design H was extremely successful in all areas, that
wasnt the same story for the other models. Design R (my design) was the
most inconsistent with a standard deviation of 86.9, which was greater
than the next aircraft in the category (Design J) by approximately 15
centimeters. And Design E had by far the least success in reaching the
target, with 223 centimeters away from the target being its closest
distance. It also had an average distance of 389.2 centimeters from the
target, which was over 200 centimeters more than Design R, which had an
average distance of 155.5 centimeters from the target.
Distance from the target played a huge role in finding our results.
But what about direction? Lets take a look at the data (Figure 3)
involving which quadrant the planes landed in each attempt, and the most
common landing spots.

Figure 3: Percentages of quadrants hit over 15 attempts

Once again, Design H was the most consistent throughout all of the
quadrants, with the results being spread out in each of the four sections.
Design E was more precise in this respect, hitting only two of the four
quadrants, but it did not have much strength or lift. This is presumably
because the distance to the target was pretty large, which made it harder
for the aircraft to hit the two quadrants behind the target. Design R
actually matched the exact same data as Design H, and Design J shared the
same number of landings in Quadrant 4.
Conclusion
As presented above, Design H is the obvious choice for our upcoming
mission. Its precision, accuracy and consistency separated it from the
rest of the models, and the results are clear. Design H is the one.
-- Robby Ackles, Rebel Pilot, 1st Class