Last weekend, in order to entertain my son (well, and not have a boring time myself), after racking my brain for a while, I made a mini dart, which probably almost everyone made in childhood, just like me. Well, those who didn’t make such a simple (to make) toy in childhood. They will be able to make it (without the suspicious glances of others, with thoughts about the mental retardation of the person who made it). Only when their offspring grows up to an acceptable age. So as not to accidentally damage anything to himself and the people around him (peacefully walking nearby and unaware of the threat looming over him). After all, safety comes first.
So, to make a mini dart I needed:
- Wire cutters.
- Scissors.
- A ballpoint pen (for marking) because there was no squared notebook.
- Ruler (for the same reason).
- Sewing thread (ordinary).
- Matches (more or less even specimens), preferably with small heads and without defects (otherwise they will have a bad effect on the flight characteristics and trajectory of our future mini rocket).
- A needle, not a big one (a big one, you’ll just need to sharpen it further or add weight).
- Paper (in my case, a fragment of wallpaper due to the absence of a notebook at the moment).
- Copper wire, not very thick, otherwise there will be difficulties with winding, and there is a high probability of breaking matches, not very thin (you will get tired of winding). I have 0.4 millimeters (it seems to be just right).
You can do without it. But since the weight of the finished product is not great, its flight range leaves much to be desired; in general, it is not as far as we would like, it practically does not stick into the target at all, and the flight path is almost unpredictable. To begin with, I made the body of the rocket, took four matches in one hand, with the other hand I pushed the needle in the middle with the sharp end outward, with the third hand I began to wind the rope, just a joke, of course, I managed it with both hands. Having wound it lightly, I fixed the rope, inserted it between the matches and put the body aside, and moved on to the next stage.
This stage actually consists of making the wings of a throwing weapon (no matter how funny it may sound, it’s true). A dart is a weapon (throwing), it is a spear, albeit somewhat lighter and smaller when compared with spears for hand-to-hand or equestrian combat (usually having a total length of up to one and a half meters). For ease of throwing, it is balanced (appropriately). As weapons (hunting) and combat, they were used by troops of many countries and peoples, already since ancient times. Constant use (as a weapon) was recorded in the twentieth century. In ancient Rus' they were called sulitsa. Darts are also called throwing arrows (short) for the game called darts.
So, first I marked and cut the paper into a square.
Then, with some simple manipulations, I turned it into an isosceles triangle, then again, again and again, in general, look at the photo.
After the wings were ready, I placed the body of the future dart on the wings.
Then, having finished and fixed the thread (as described above), burning with the desire to quickly test it, he threw it onto the wall of the house covered with fiberboard. Expectations were not met, it was still damp (its weight was not enough to overcome the windage, I thought). I made a decision to correct the situation no matter what. From the numerous engineering thoughts that arose while it was falling to the floor, the most suitable one for a particular type of aircraft was chosen.
1) Reduce windage by cutting off parts of the wings (it immediately seemed suspicious and not beautiful to me).
2) Increase the weight of the bow, adding a significant increase in aerodynamic air resistance. This was achieved by winding copper wire onto matches with a needle, while not forgetting about a smooth transition. Having played enough and received a lot of unforgettable moments of happiness from a fun time spent with the child, there was an attempt to prolong the pleasure through modernization in order to attract the child’s waning attention. He realized the idea by magically transforming a dart into a rocket by partially amputating the tail of the dart.
The result of the surgical intervention was that another half hour was gained. And the rocket landed safely (albeit with its nose) on the surface of the wall, where it remains to this day. I wish everyone who has children the same pleasant and unique moments in life. I advise you to use the time when they are still small, because they will grow up and small, primitive toys will no longer be able to evoke in them the same emotions close to a state of euphoria.
