I found that it was more fun to make Squirrels at the pub with these display stands.
You can see that the owners of these Squirrels look much cooler.
These are made from a thin piece of bamboo, a small block with a hole drilled in it and a little cube of sponge. You split the sponge so it forms a clamp and glue it to the end of the bamboo. I usually push the bamboo into the sponge so it glues better.
My new friend Dinkar who is a school teacher from India sent me these pictures today.
He made these wings out of thin bamboo. He says they didn’t work and he feels it’s because the bamboo was too thin.
It’s pretty clear he is resourceful and I’m sure the kids are excited about this project. They should be receiving their genuine Squirrel kits in the mail any day now. I hope they enjoy them! If anybody would like to donate, I’ll send them another box of goodies.
Dinkar Narwade is a primary school teacher in a small village in India. He has managed to get a Squirrel together from bamboo wood. He’s still working on the propeller. I just sent him a package so we can look forward to some more pictures and perhaps some video.
Professor Francisco Souza (of Uberlândia – MG – Brasil) had the Squirrel as a final exam for first-year Aeronautical Engineering students.
About 30 students used a gym and the winner “Jefferson” made the flight record of 22 seconds with an all balsa Squirrel.
The bamboo Squirrel below did very well too.
“I was impressed by the finesse and performance of his model”. — Francisco Souza, Faculdade de Engenharia Mecânica
Here is a picture of a Bamboo Squirrel from Brazil!
I received this from the Engineering Department of Universidade Federal de Uberlândia.
The Squirrel is their final exam first-year Aeronautical Engineering students.
