Toymakers at Hasbro, Inc. of Pawtucket, Rhode Island are
delighted with the "ups and downs" of a product that benefited
from NASA expertise. Toy designers at the firm set their sights
on creating a foam glider, one that a child could fly with
little knowledge of aeronautics. But early in its development,
the Aero Nerf® gliders had one critical problem: they didn't fly
so well! For toy gliders, that can surely dampen commercial
sales. Through the expertise of Don Steinman of NASA's Northeast
Regional Technology Transfer Center, members of a Hasbro team
were linked with aeronautical experts at Langley Research Center
in Virginia. As glider hobbyists them selves, the NASA engineers
provided essential information about how wing design and shape
are integral to a glider's performance. At issue was improving
the overall flying distances and the loop-to-loop stunt
qualities of Hasbro's prototype gliders. Langley's Gaudy
Bezos-O'Connor, an experimental aerodynamicist by training and a
technology transfer specialist,