Many people have asked to see photos of the launcher, so I have taken five good images that I think lay it out.

This is the front end. A pulley wheel is used to direct the pull on the pin and block along the 150 cm of acceleration.

This image shows the pin protruding 30 mm up from between two extruded aluminum U channels.

This is the end-on view of the channel. All the "soot" is in fact graphite--a well known lubricant. When the pin reaches here, you're either flying, or crashing.

An oak block provides the pin with a non-wobbly trip down the channel.

A view from above shows the "launch pad" that sits just behind where the pin starts. The aluminum track shown here allows for 150 cm of acceleration before launching the glider. To be clear, the plane starts at the bottom of the picture, and accelerates towards the pulley wheel at the top of the picture.

Hope this helps! Not shown in these pictures is the hinged frame that the device will sit on. I need to build this to allow people to angle the deck as described in the competition rules. Please consider the tips given below.

Some testing of the launcher has been done, as well as a trial runs with several gliders. Consider the following tips when constructing your own glider. As always, start early and get it "off the paper" and into the sky as soon as possible.

Launching the pin protrudes directly upward by 3 cm and is 6 mm wide. It will pull with great force in order to accelerate your glider to a "flyable" speed. Many gliders had trouble using this quick moving pin. Let's call the part of your plane that attaches to the pin the HOOK.

1) Many hooks ripped out because they were weakly attached to the glider. Make your hook attachment strong!

2) Many hooks didn't allow the glider to escape or detach from the pin at the end of the runway, causing nasty crashes. Hooks with "open backs" were far more successful than closed rings or round holes.

3) Pulling things is much more stable than pushing them. Try pushing a ruler in a perfectly straight line across a deck. You're bound to find that it is easier to pull the ruler.

Ballast The location of weight in your plane is crucial to it flying in a straight line without flipping over or tumbling. If you look with a critical eye at arrows, darts, or badminton birdies, you will see that they have a heavier end, and a light, feathered end. The following website has excellent coverage of aerodynamics, with plenty of pictures.

Dihedral The angle that your wings make from the front view is called dihedral and controls the "lateral" stability of your glider. Just remember, that in general WINGS DOWN = BAD. Watch the way pigeons glide around and you will recognize the "Y" shape of stability.

Lift If your design hopes to win, it will likely also be a glider, rather than just something that is "thrown" like a ball. In this case you will have to learn a bit about lift. Put your hand out in the wind while someone is driving. You're sure to notice that having just the right angle will push up and balance the weight of your hand. Many of the designs we tested failed because

1) The wings were angled downward, pushing the glider into the ground.

2) The wings were not angled at all, making the glider fall more quickly than necessary.

3) Too much lift. The plane quick heads skyward, flips and heads for hard ground.