How to Make an Airplane Whirligig

Description:

This week I thought it would be a fun chance to make a whirligig before the summer comes to an end. After realizing there was a lack of airplane templates online, I went ahead and made my own airplane design. I used 3/4″ wood for the fuselage, 1/2″ wood for the wings, tail, and part of the propeller and 1/4″ wood for the propeller blades. As for the stand, I simply cut a 2×4 into a 1.5″x1.5″ piece that was roughly 3′ long. I used spray adhesive to apply the template to my pieces of plywood and cut out all the pieces on my bandsaw. If you don’t have a bandsaw, a jigsaw or scroll saw will work great as well. After all the pieces were cut out, I sanded them to a smooth finish and applied some paint to all the pieces. I added some blue stripes to contrast the white and the propeller looked best in black. I spray painted the stand as well and attached the propeller with a nail and some washers. After setting it outside, the wind made the plane come to life!