The Impact of Wing Weight Ratio on Rotocopter Flight Time: A Systematic Study

• Aakash Gadh

  The FOD Control Corporation

  Author

This study systematically investigates the effect of wing weight distribution on the descent time of paper rotocopters, a model system for passive rotary flight. Using a controlled drop height of 3.0 m and a fixed total added mass of 2.0 g (four 0.5 g paper clips), six configurations of left-to-right wing weight ratio (100:0, 75:25, 60:40, 50:50, 25:75, 0:100) were tested. Each configuration was replicated three times, with descent time measured manually from release to ground contact. The symmetric configuration (50:50) yielded the longest mean flight time (2.38 s), while extreme asymmetries (100:0 and 0:100) reduced flight time to approximately 1.85–1.89 s. A quadratic regression model (R² = 0.94) shows an optimum near 55% weight on the left wing, suggesting that slight asymmetry may be tolerated without severe performance loss. These results support the theoretical expectation that balanced torque and moment of inertia maximise aerodynamic stability and descent duration. However, manual timing, release inconsistency, and environmental airflow introduced variability, highlighting the need for refined measurement methods. The findings have implications for biomimetic micro air vehicles, deployable sensors, and low-cost passive descent systems, demonstrating that even simple paper models can yield quantitative insights into rotational stability and drag interactions.

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