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How to Make an Airplane With Pepsi Cans

Model building can be an enjoyable hobby and a way to encourage children and parents to work together on a project. Aluminum can airplane modeling has advantages over some other projects: It requires little special equipment, the models can be built in a short amount of time, and it's a creative way to reuse old cans. With a little know-how, a few simple tools and a careful touch, one man's old can becomes another man's hobby.

Things You'll Need

Work gloves
2 aluminum cans
Tin snips
Felt-tipped marker
Glue

Instructions

- 1
  Clean out the cans with warm water and soap, rinse well and allow to air-dry.
- 2
  Use tin snips to cut two-thirds of the way around the bottom of the first can. Fold the bottom up along the attached side and cut half of the circular bottom off the can in a straight line. This will be the tail piece.
- 3
  Cut the entire bottom off the second can. Cut a 2-inch strip off the can body, and then cut across the loop so it will lie flat. Cut a small notch in the middle of this piece. This piece forms the wings.
- 4
  Snip the bottom that you previously removed from the can into an "x" shape by removing small wedges. This is your propeller.
- 5
  Cut two circles from the second aluminum can, appropriately sized for wheels. It may help to remove the end of the can and cut across the loop to make a flat piece. Use a marker to draw your circles before cutting.
- 6
  Glue the wing piece about two-thirds of the way from the front of the plane. Glue the propeller to the front of the plane, and bend both pieces so they come away from the plane body. Glue the wheels approximately a third of the way from the front of the plane, one on each side of the body.

Aviation