Modeling Frisbee Flight Dynamics

Abstract

This project investigates the vertical dynamics of frisbee flight using Newton’s laws combined with aerodynamic lift and drag models informed by Hummel’s analysis and the Pilot’s Handbook of Aeronautical Knowledge. High-speed video from two throw types—a flat flick and an outside-in flick—was analyzed with PASCO motion tracking to extract quadratic fits for vertical position and infer effective accelerations. These results are consistent with classical predictions that lift depends sensitively on angle of attack and disc orientation. Overall, the experiment demonstrates that Newtonian mechanics, supplemented with standard aerodynamic force laws, provides a coherent and quantitatively meaningful description of frisbee flight.