The Aerodynamics of Frisbee Flight

• Main Author: Kathleen Baumback
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: University of South Florida 2010-01-01
• Series: Undergraduate Journal of Mathematical Modeling: One + Two
• Subjects: Frisbee Flight, Aerodynamics, Trajectory
• Online Access: http://scholarcommons.usf.edu/ujmm/vol3/iss1/31

This project will describe the physics of a common Frisbee in flight. The aerodynamic forces acting on the Frisbee are lift and drag, with lift being explained by Bernoulli‘s equation and drag by the Prandtl relationship. Using V. R. Morrison‘s model for the 2-dimensional trajectory of a Frisbee, equations for the x- and y- components of the Frisbee‘s motion were written in Microsoft Excel and the path of the Frisbee was illustrated. Variables such as angle of attack, area, and attack velocity were altered to see their effect on the Frisbee‘s path and to speculate on ways to achieve maximum distance and height.