STATISTICS IMPROVEMENT PROJECT

COURSE 2018/2019

GROUP: 823-821

TEAM: BITCHCRAFT

MADE BY: MARÍA ASENSIO, DIEGO JORDÁ AND LUIS NAVARRO

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IMPROVEMENT PROJECT

INDEX

1. Original plan analysis

2. Plane assembly
3. Flying the plane
4. Analysing the data with Statgraphics

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PART 1. ORIGINAL PLAN ANALYSIS

The objective of this first part is to determine the characteristics of our aircraft
using statistical methods.

The planes of the original aircraft are the same for all the equipment, but the
natural variability in the production process will cause the planes not to be exactly the
same, and their behaviour, therefore, to differ. These differences must be minimal, but
they are inherent to each plane and we must characterize it, in order to improve it later.

SESSION 1. PLANE ASSEMBLY.

During the first project-related lab session, we followed the instructions to build
the plane, by drawing and cutting the different pieces to make them as equal as the
template as possible. We added some glue to the wings, and some tape (which we later
found out added too much weight to the aircraft).
To take the measurements, we used a 30-cm ruler, uploading the obtained data
to the google drive file.

SESSION 2. FLYING THE PLANE

The launching session took place on the inside, since the weather was too windy
for the aircrafts to fly outside. Consequently, we had problems related to the plane
colliding to the corridor walls, or the ceiling.
We strictly followed the order between team members, throwing the plane from
the table and taking measurements with the provided material.
The Excel file with the obtained measurements was uploaded to Google Drive.
Our principal problem was the excess of weight on the nose of the plane. We
didn’t reach high flight ranges, as we can see on the following box-and-whiskers plot:

[DOC: GIA_TAR_ESP] 3 [Rev: 1]

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We solved that problem by removing the coins and the tape, and starting the
process of adding the glue all over again. However, this led the weight to go towards the
tail, so we ended up adding a coin again, with tape.

Analysing the data with Statgraphics

Using the distribution fitting tool, we decided that the data of flight ranges could
be approximated to a lognormal distribution:

So we obtained the average and standard deviation, and then built the lognormal
distribution plot.

Count 24
Average 4,43292
Median 4,105
Variance 2,35762
Standard deviation 1,53545
Coeff. of variation 34,6376%
Minimum 1,96
Maximum 7,6
Range 5,64
Stnd. skewness 1,4165
Stnd. kurtosis -0,345984

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Furthermore, we obtained the probability of the plane flying more than 5

meters:
Upper Tail Area (>)
Variable Dist. 1 Dist. 2 Dist. 3 Dist. 4 Dist. 5
5 0,299468

This confirmed that our aircraft needs a lot of improvements for the next project
session, as the probability of flying long distances was very low.

As the next step, we started comparing different variables.

• Launchers: we compared them with the flight time, divided in intervals of one
second.

We can see that Diego was the one who was able to keep the plane on the air
for the longest, and María didn’t launch it for longer that 2 seconds.
We also built a box-and-whiskers plot comparing the launchers to the flight
range:

[DOC: GIA_TAR_ESP] 5 [Rev: 1]

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They all have right asymmetry, and we can observe that Diego was the most
constant launcher.

• Comparison of the launching angle and the landing:

We can appreciate that for smaller angles, the plane landed on its nose or in a
straight position, while for bigger angles it lost control, landing on its side or
crashing with the walls.

In conclusion, our airplane needs a significant amount of improvements, and for

the next project session we will try to make it in such a way that it reaches longer
distances, and therefore improving the data range.