Paper Airplane Magazine

8/18/2019 Paper Airplane Magazine

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Paper Airplane Magazine, Winter 2012 – Page 1


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Page 2 – Paper Airplane Magazine, Winter 2012

Ready for Take Off!


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TableofContents

LetterfromtheEditor

HistoryoftheWorld

RecordPaperAirplane

HowIsettheGuinnessWorldRecord

TheBasicsofFolding

FoldingandFlyingYourPlanes

SettingUpaPaperAirplaneContest

3

6

10

11

12

14

16

plus…

Aspecialsectionincludingstep-by-stepinstructionsonfoldingpaperairplanesforbothnovicesandadvancedfolders.

Ken Blackburn tells a story on how he created

the world record paper airplane.

This article, also written by Ken Blackburn, ex-

plains how he set the Guinness World Record.

Almost anyone can make paper airplanes, but

it helps to know a little bit about them. This

article will teach you how to achieve great

ights from the start.

This article introduces the reader to the

basics of paper airplane folding.

This article provides guidelines for settingup paper airplane contests


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Paper AirplaneA Workmen Publication

Editor in Chief

Art Director

Writer at Large

Associate Editor

Contributing Editors

Associate Art Director

Student Intern

Production

Nick Robinson

Alison Fortney

Ken Blackburn

Troy Underwood

Bob Stocki

Howdy Doody

Jeff Lammers

Vickie Bales

John Kenzie

Tom Kadzielawski

Jennifer Jezler

Nolan Chan

Keith Laux

Member, American Societyof Magazine Editors

ASME works to preserve editorial independence andspeaks out on public policy issues, particularly those

pertaining to the First Amendment.

Paper Airplane Magazine (Vol. 1, No. 2, January 2013; ISSN 0362-4595) ispublished monthly by Paper Airplane Magazine, Inc., 435 N. Michigan Ave.,Chicago, IL 60611, 312-222-1234, fax 312-456-7890, a division of Work-men Publications. Periodicals postage paid at Chicago, Illinois and additionalmailing offices. Subscriptions, $24 per year. Single copy: $4.95. Paper Air-plane assumes no responsibility for the return of unsolicited materials. Forinformation regarding subscription renewals, payments or changes of address,call 800-999-1234. o settle address changes in writing, send us both yournew and old addresses, along with the code number from your address label.Include old and new zip codes. © 2012 by Paper Airplane Magazine. Allrights reserved under International and Pan-American Copyright Conven-tions. Reproduction in while or in part without prior written permission isstrictly prohibited. For article reprints, call Wright’s Reprints, 877-123-4444.Portions of Paper Airplane Magazine are available in microform from Bell& Howell and University Microfilms. Te names Paper Airplane Magazine

and Paper Airplane Guide are trademarks of Paper Airplane Magazine, Inc.Postmaster: Send changes of address to Paper Airplane Magazine, P.O. Box12345, Palm Coast, FL 32142-0325. Printed in U.S.A.


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Man’s desire to y dates backto the earliest times, from thelegendary Icarus and the 18th-

century efforts of the MontgolerBrothers, right up to the fatefulThursday in 1903 when Wilbur

and Orville Wright made the rstheavier-than-air ight.

Nowadays, we take it forgranted when aircraft y at severaltimes the speed of sound with acomputer in control, performingthe most amazing acrobatics.

Yet, deep within us, there is still

a fascination with all things thatare able to leave the earth behind.

Few of us have been able to watchswallows swoop and ve in theevening sun without feeling atouch of envy.

This longing may be one

cause of our love affair withpaper airplanes. The traditional

dart is probably the most folded

design on earth. Many hundreds

of thousands must have beenmade over the years by eager

schoolchildren and by adults with

a little time to spare.

No one knows exactly how old

the concept of a paper plane is,but it is probably a 20th-century

innovation. The folding of paperaircraft has close links with theart of origami (which literallymeans “folding paper”). The growthof interest in paper ight in the1960s was probably an offshootof the great technical and artisticadvances made in origami during

that period.

Most of the designs in thismagazine have been created

by people who are primarily

paper-folders rather than aircraftenthusiasts, but the appeal ofpaper aircraft transcends theappeal of origami. Perhaps this is

FromtheEditorbecause paper aircraft remind usof the carefree days of our youth,and the thrill of sending a darthigher and further than anyoneelse. Despite its apparently trivial

nature, creating paper aircraftcan be an exacting and time-

consuming activity. The designers ofsophisticated aircraft know of thevalue of simple aerodynamics, asdisplayed by a paper dart.

This magazine is aimed at

anyone who has ever wanted to

try their hand at tried and tested

paper aircraft, and it also includesone or two rather unorthodox

designs. No previous foldingexperience is needed. After tryingthese examples, I hope you will

feel inspired not only to createyour own designs, but to try other

subjects and discover the true and

lasting joy of paper-folding.

Nick Robinson, editor


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HistoryoftheWorldRecordPaperAirplane

When I was about eight yearsold, I made one of my fre-quent trips to the aviation section

of the library in Kernersville, NorthCarolina, and checked out a book

that included instructions for asimple square paper airplane. I

found that it ew better than thepaper darts I was used to making.

Thrown straight up, it reached

much higher altitudes.

To the dismay of my teachers, I fold-ed many of these planes, experiment-ing with changes to the original design.

(One of the beauties of paper airplanesis that they are perfectly suited to trial

and error testing. If one doesn’t work,it’s cheap and easy to start over.) One ofmy designs would level off at the peakof its climb and then start a slow down-ward glide. Sometimes, with the help

of rising air currents, I achieved ightslasting nearly a minute and covering

about 1,000 feet.In 1977, I received a Guinness

Book of World Records as a gift.Naturally the rst thing I turned to

was the aviation section. The paperairplane “time aloft” record was15 seconds, set by William Pryorin 1975. It dawned on me that

my planes (without help from thewind) were ying at close to worldrecord times. On my next outing, I

timed the best ights. They weren’tquite long enough to break the

record, but with a little work I

thought I could do it.

With this goal in mind, I renedmy plane designs and worked on

my throw. Many people are suprised

to learn that I consider the throw to

be almost as important as the plane

itself. The faster the throw, the high-er the airplane toes and, therefore,the longer the ight.

In 1979, when I was a junior

in high school, I made an ofcialattempt at the world record. The re-

cord was described in the Guinness

Book as time “over level ground,” soI chose the school’s baseball eld asmy staging ground. One afternoon,with my teachers as timers and a

reporter on hand from the Win-ston-Salem Jounal, I let my favoritesquare plane y. With the help ofthe wind, I made a ight of 24.9seconds, and was sure I had ownright into the pages of history.

Unfortunately, the letter I receivedback from Guinness Superlatives,Ltd., wasn’t quite what I had hoped

for. They informed me that the ighthad to be performed indoors.

The next year, I worked part-time at Reynolds Coliseum in

Winston-Salem, parking cars and

moving equipment. In my time off,I had access to the largest indoor

paper airplane practice arena I

would ever need. My best ightsyielded times of over 17 seconds,and I new the record was mine forthe taking, but I got sidetracked by

college applications.

A Second Attempt

August of 1981 was the beginningof four years of aerospace engineer-ing at North Carolina State Universi-

ty. I lived on the sixth then the eighth

oor, perfect airplane launching pads(even though throwing objects fromdorm windows was strictly prohibit-

ed). I made planes from every paperproduct available—from pizza boxesto computer punch cards—in many

bizarre shapes, and soon infected thedorm with plane-ying fever.

Still, it wasn’t until my junior year

that my friends began encouragingme to make another stab at the

world record, and I nally decidedto give it a try. I practiced several

times at the school coliseum, keep-

ing the best plane from my sessions,nicknamed “old Bossy,” for the recordattempt. Old Bossy was regularly

achieving times over 17 seconds, well

above the 15-second record.

A friend arranged for a reporterfrom the school newspaper to meetus at the coliseum. I made a few

warm-up throws, and then reachedfor Old Bossy. With a mighty heave, Isent the plan hurtling into the upper

reaches of the coliseum… and di-rectly into a cluster of speakers nearthe ceiling. I was devastated. My best

plane, Old Bossy, gone forever.My roommate handed me a

piece of ordinary copier paper and Iquickly made another airplane. My

second throw with the new plane

1985 Guinness Book of World RecordsPaper AirplaneThe ight duration for a paper aircraftover level ground is 16.89 seconds byKen Blackburn in the Reynolds Coliseumat NC State University, Raleigh, onNovember 29, 1983.

1989 Guinness Book of World RecordsPaper AirplaneThe ight duration for a paper aircraftover level ground is 17.20 seconds by KenBlackburn at the Mecca Convention Center,Milwaukee, Wisconsin, July 28, 1987.


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was the best of the afternoon at16.89 seconds. It eat the old record,

but I knew I could have done bet-

ter with Old Bossy. I sent Guinness

the newspaper article, signatures

of the witnesses, and Old Bossy’sreplacement. This time Guinness

responded with the letter I’d been

waiting for.

After graduation, I went to workfor an aerospace company—Mc-Donnell Douglas in St. Louis,

Missouri. In the summer of 1987,I was nishing a job on the F-18Hornet, when I got an unexpected

call from California. A televisionproduction company was putting

together a series featuring people

attempting to break world records.Would I be interested in trying to

reset my record? I didn’t have to

think long before replying with adenite yes. The lming was onlya few weeks away and I usuallyneeded at least a month to get my

throwing arm in shape, so I started

practicing immediately.

Round Three

With my best practice airplane

packed in an old show box, I set

out on my all-expense-paid ex-

travaganza to Milwaukee. It turned

out that Tony Feltch, the distancerecord holder for paper airplanes,was also there, trying to beat his

record, and that we’d be making

our attempts in the Milwaukee

Convention Center.

Tony went rst and, after only a fewthrows, broke his old record, achieving

a distance of nearly 200 feet. Addition-al lming and interviews with Tonydragged on for hours, leaving me on

the sidelines, sweating bullets.Finally, it was my turn. I picked

out my best plane from practice,and got the nod from the producerthat the cameras were rolling. I

heaved the airplane upward, and

watched it oat down. The ofcialcalled out a time of 15.02 seconds.I concentrated harder on my sec-

ond throw, but was again rewarded

with a time of only 15.47 seconds.

Suddenly it struck me that I mightnot be able to reset the record.

Even in good condition, my arm

lasts for only a couple of worldrecord throws in any one day.

I made my third throw with ev-

erything I had. (I estimate that thesethrows leave my hand at a speed

close to 60 miles per hour.) Thelaunch seemed better, but the stop-

watch would be the nal judge.

As the plan came to a smooth si-

lent landing on the oor, the ofcialyelled out, “17.20 seconds!” Yes, anew world record! I made two more

throws, but neither beat the record.

Another Chance

For a little while after my seg-ment aired I felt like a celebrity.Friends and relatives called me, and

kids in my neighborhood wanted

me to autograph paper airplanes.

But the excitement soon died down,

and I went back to my normal life.Still, I continued modifying andying my paper airplanes. In 1990,

I ne-tuned my planes, built up myarm, and achieved several 20-sec-

ond ights (which, of course, noone was around to see, much less

ofcially record).In 1994, I received another

surprise call from a TV program;this time it was from a British showcalled Record Breakers. They want-

ed to know if I’d be willing to resetthe world record again in a month

in New York City. I enthusiasticallyagreed and immediately started

working out in preparation. I was for-tunate enough to nd a trainer whowas also the pitcher for a collegebaseball team and could help me

strengthen my 30-year-old arm.

February 17 found me standingnext to an enormous DC-10 in

American Airlines Hangar Number

10 at JFK Airport, the chosen place

1996 Guinness Book of World RecordsPaper AirplaneThe ight duration for a paper aircraftover level ground is 18.80 seconds byKen Blackburn at American AirlinesHangar 10, JFK Airport, Queens, NY,February 17, 1994.

Current Guinness World RecordPaper AirplaneThe ight duration for a paper aircraftover level ground is 27.6 seconds byKen Blackburn at the Georgia Dome inAtlanta, October 8, 1998.

Many people are

surprised to learn that I

consider the throw to be

almost as important as

the plane itself.


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for the attempt. I walked up to theplane and looked in awe at the

200-foot-long, 100-million-dollarbackdrop for my 5-inch-long foldedpiece of paper. I had an enthusiastic

crowd of conlookers consisting ofthe hangar’s maintenance crew and

other personnel, all waiting to see

the world record broken.

The cameras began to roll. I

felt condent, but more nervousthan I’d expected. My rst throwbombed as a result of a poorlaunch. During my second throw, I

concentrated on good form, givingit everything I had to offer. The

launch felt a lot better. The planstarted a slow turn to the left,narrowly avoiding a collision with

the DC-10’s tail. I could tell it was

a good ight, but only the timerwould know exactly how good.

When he called out 18.8 sec-

onds, everyone began to clap. I had

forgotten the thrill of setting arecord, and was running on adrena-

line for hours afterward.

Surpassed — Briefy

In 1996 the BBC invited me to try

to reset my record, this time on live

TV in London with 20 other teamscompeting. I won the contest with a

ight time of 17.3 seconds, but unbe-knownst to me, after the event twoof the other contestants, Chris Edge

and Andy Currey, continued working

on their planes and set a new record

of 20.9 seconds on July 28, 1996. Therecord did not appear in the Guin-

ness Book until the 1998 edition.

That January, I glanced through afreshly printed copy and discoveredto my horror that I had been dis-

placed. I had to get my record back.

I knew it would take at least six

months of daily preparation to havea chance of resetting the record.My plan was to construct and test

between ve and ten planes a week.Initially, I tried radical changes to

my design, progressively narrowing

in on the best paper airplane designfor a record attempt. I also startedworking with a professional athletictrainer, Dorri Buckholtz, focusing onstrengthening my arm. She was ex-

tremely helpful, giving me detailedinstructions for exercises designedto improve my throwing speed.

Despite my new designs, I had the

most luck with the original model

I’d invented as a kid (the one that’s

included with this article). But I didnd a few ways to make the planey better and more consistently. First,it’s important to keep the folds as atas possible, which I did by pressing

each fold with the side of a penas I constructed the plane. Second,

I experimented with making the

folds both a little wider and a little

narrower until I found just the rightwidth. Third, I added crease marks on

the wings which, like the dimples on

a gold ball, reduced the drag.

I started by practicing indoors in

order to get consistent ying times.My primary ying site was a largeassembly area at Boeing—where

I’d also practiced for my 1994 and1996 records—but I quickly ran

into problems. It was being used

for the nal assembly of the navy’snewest ghter, the F/A-18E/F,which meant there wasn’t enough

space, and the 60-foot ceilingswere also proving to be too low.

My best ights often hit the ceiling,and I lost some of my best planesforever when they lodged on top ofbeams or ventilation ducts. So I be-

gan practicing outside, but weather

and air currents made it difcult todetermine the exact ight perfor-mance of each plane. I knew mybest planes were ying just over20 seconds, but by how much?

Finding a facility for attempting

the record was another challenge.Through the help of a family friend,I eventually secured the Georgia

Dome (home of the Atlanta Fal-cons), and a date of October 8th,1998, was set. Not only did I have a

facility of my dreams, but the staffalso agreed to give me an extra

day in the dome to practice before

The world recordthrow, 1998

Ken Blackburn demonstratingthe world record throw


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I attempted the record!

Atlanta

Guinness requires media coverage,

videotape, and photographs, as well

as the record corroborated by twodesignated ofcials known as “Scru-tineers.” Organizing all this at a loca-tion 500 miles from home was quitea challenge, but with the help of mysister, Jackie Tyson, and the publisher

of this magazine, everything cametogether—now all I had to do was go

ahead and set the record!

Wednesday, October 7th, was my

practice day. Words can’t describe

how overwhelming it was to haveone of the largest rooms in theworld silent and still, just for me!But there was one problem. It was

raining, and with the dome’s venti-

lation turned off, the humidity hadltered indoors as well. It wasn’t acomplete show stopper, but it was

affecting my planes. After an hourof testing, only two planes hadown beyond the existing record,

and both by less than a second! Bythe end of the day, I was somewhatsatised I could break the record,but only if the humidity didn’tincrease further.

Thursday, October 8th, start-

ed out cloudy and very humid. I

grabbed my Rubbermaid contain-

ers (Rubbermaid makes a great wa-

terproof, crushproof paper airplanehangar) and headed down to theGeorgia Dome. As I approached

the dome, the clouds appeared to

be lifting, so I hoped the humid-

ity wouldn’t be a problem. WhenI walked indoors, both CNN and

the local news crews were there

to greet me. I made some practice

throws to warm up my arm and to

allow the media some close-up

views of my launch. While I waitedfor everyone else to arrive, I metthe Scrutineers, went over the

rules, and showed them my planes.

Then it was show time.

The Final Attempt

The rules allow just ten of-cial throws, so rst I took out mybest plane from the day beforeand ne-tuned it until it ew justright and the practice times ex-

ceeded 20 seconds. I made sure

the Scrutineers were ready, and I

took the eld for my rst ofcialight. I gave it my best throw—it

ew erratically, but still it lookedgood. I waited nervously for theofcial time from the Scrutineers.21.3 seconds—a new record! What

a relief. Nonetheless I decided Iwould use all my available throws

to make sure to get the best time

possible. The second throw went

straight up—and straight down.

After a small adjustment, anothergood ight, 23.1 seconds! Thrownumber four was another dud, butnumber ve had a great launchand was 24.2 seconds! Just think,

only ve minutes earlier I thoughtI might not be able to beat the

record! Throw number six was a

dud, and throws seven and eight

were both a little short, and throw

nine was another dud. This was

my last throw—I gave it all I had.

This time it was a great throw, and

it had a great transition to slow

ight. When it landed I knew itwas a long ight, but loner than

24.2 seconds? I heard the time asI walked over to retrieve my plane:

27.6 seconds! YES! Better than I

had ever hoped or dreamed. With

luck, help, and hard work, the sum-

mit had been reached!

I submitted the necessary ma-

terials to Guinness, and I received

notication from them on April30th, 1999, that my record had be-

come ofcial. I may now be retired

from setting records—but whoknows what the future might hold.

Throwing a paper airplanein a stadium

The world recordpaper airplane


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HowISettheGuinnessWorldRecordby Ken Blackburn

Most people don’t think theycan set a world record. I know.I used to think that way, too. I start-

ed making paper airplanes just

for the fun of it when I was aboutseven years old. Over the years, I

improved my planes and eventual-

ly landed in the Guinness Book ofWorld Records.

I have always loved airplanes,

and as a kid I made lots of modelairplanes. I enjoyed ying them,but didn’t like the expense, the

building time, and the eventual

tree landing or crash. While brows-

ing in the library one day, I discov-ered several books that showed

me how to make some great paper

airplanes. I found the best-yingplanes were the square-looking

ones. I also learned that the real

secret to making paper airplanes

y well is the small adjustmentsyou make once you’ve own theplanes a few times.

Soon I was ying lots of paper

airplanes. They ew well, werequick to make, and were just

about free. I improved my planesby studying anything I could ndabout real airplanes, then making

changes to my paper models. I

even started coming up with my

own plane designs.

When I was 13 years old, I de-

signed a new plane that ew reallywell. I could throw it very high

outdoors and watch the wind carryit as it slowly glided to the ground.

It soon became my favorite plane,and I worked constantly to improve

it.

When I was 15 years old, my

parents gave me a Guinness Book

of World Records as a gift. I quicklyturned to the section with aircraftrecords. Among the records was

one for paper airplanes. It stat-

ed that the longest time a paper

airplane had own over a levelsurface was 15.0 seconds. I soonrealized my paper airplanes would

y nearly that long, so I set a goalto try to break the world record.

After a year of practice andne-tuning, I gathered my friends,teachers, and a newspaper reporter

for a record attempt. My plane ewfor almost 25 seconds! I was elateduntil Guinness informed me therecord had to be set indoors. Setting

the record had to wait. I needed to

nd a large enough building to do itin, and I also needed to practice and

improve my throw.

At 20, I was studying to becomean aerospace engineer at North

Carolina State University. I told

some friends about my “almost” re-cord, and they decided they would

help me try again. They timed my

ights and arranged for a reporterto cover the event.

After a month of practice, wegathered at my college’s basket-

ball arena for the attempt. With

a camera and a stopwatch ready,I threw my best plane as hard as

I could into the upper reaches ofthe building, only to watch it glide

into a cluster of speakers. My bestplane, gone forever!

One of my friends found a sheetof copier paper, and I quickly foldedanother plane. My third throw with

this new plane was the best at

16.89 seconds—a new record! After

a couple of nervous weeks, the let-ter I wanted arrived—Guinness ap-proved the record! After ve years, Ihad nally reached my goal.

Since then I have been able

to reset my record twice—rst at17.2 seconds, then at 18.8 seconds,

where the record stands today. I

have had ights of up to 21 sec-onds in practice sessions, so maybe

I’ll try again. I’d like to break the

20-second barrier.

GUINNESS GUIDELINESHere are the rules for setting aGuinness World Record for paperairplane time aloft:

1. The ight must take placeindoors.

2. The plane must be made from asingle sheet of paper that is nolonger than 9.84 by 13.90 inch-es (250 x 353 mm) and weighsno more than 5 ounces (150grams). Typing or copier paperworks great.

3. 3. It’s OK to use some tape orglue.

4. 4. The plan must be thrown

from level ground. The stop-

watch must start when yourelease the plan, and end whenthe plane touches anything (theoor, a wall, a chair…).

5. 5. You’re allowed six attempts.6. 6. You must submit the follow-

ing to le a record claim:• Signed statements from two

witnesses saying that theysaw you set the record.

• A newspaper clipping aboutthe event.

• Color photographs and acontinuous video of theight (you must have both).

NOTE: It is not required that a Guinness representative be present.

FAST FACT

The world’s largest paperairplane on record had awing span of 45 feet 10inches. It was built by students and faculty at DelftUniversity of Technologyin the Netherlands, and onMay 15, 1995, they ew it114 feet indoors.


11/32


TheBasicsofFolding

Paper is composed of bers ofwood, held together with aspecial type of glue called “sizing.”When you gently bend the paper,

the bers are able to ex and

return to their original position.When you make a crease in the

paper, the bers are bent so muchthat they stay in their new posi-

tion. This means that paper-fold-ers must always be accurate. The

paper “remembers” wrong creasesjust as well as it does correct ones!

Accuracy is especially important

when making paper airplanes, as

poor folding will probably mean

poor ying.The ability of the paper to re-

member a crease depends on both

the composition and the thickness

of the paper. We need to choose atype of paper that will be strong,yet light. This will allow us to foldplanes that are rigid enough to

cope with crash landings yet not so

heavy as to be difcult to y.

If we are folding from squares,another important factor is thegrain. When paper is made, the

bers of wood tend to line up ina certain direction, known as the

“grain”. This makes the paper easierto fold in one direction (with thegrain) than the other (againstthe grain). You can determine thedirection of grain by the followingprocedure. Place the paper at onthe palms of your hands and gentlyex the sides upward and inward.Feel the tension in the paper, and

not how much it resists the pres-

sure of your hands. Now turn the

paper around so the next side facestoward you and repeat the process.

You should be able to detect a dis-

tinct difference between the two. Ifthe paper exes easily, the grain isrunning in a line away from you. Ifthe paper has more resistance, the

grain runs from side to side.We can make use of the grain to

stiffen the wings by folding so that

the grain runs from side to sideon the nished design. If the wingcreases run with the grain, they

will tend to op up and down moreeasily. When starting a design, look

ahead on the diagrams to deter-mine which sides represent the

wings. Then turn the paper so that

the grain runs across from wing towing. This theory is easy to apply

with square paper, but with rect-

angular paper it will of course bea matter of luck if the grain runs inthe ideal way.

There is a maximum size beyond

which paper airplanes won’t y.

This because, at a certain point theweight of the paper becomes sogreat that the wings won’t hold their

shape and angle. Standard letter-size

paper is usually the best, and is cer-

tainly the most popular size. Experi-

ment with different makes and typesto nd the most suitable.

More resistance grain runs horizontally Less resistance grain runs vertically


12/32


FoldingandFlyingYourPlanesby Jeff Lammers

Almost anyone can make paperairplanes, but it helps to know alittle about how best to fold themand how to make them y the way

you want. The following guidelineswill help you have great ightsfrom the get-go. Tip: If you’re a rst-time paper airplane pilot, start with

either the Slice or Pirate’s Secret.They’re excellent iers, easy to fold,and simple to adjust.

Making the Planes

The planes in this magazine are

marked with three kinds of lines:

solid lines, dashed lines, and dot-ted lines. The solid lines show you

where to cut the plane. They’re also

marked with little pictures of scis-sors. The dashed lines are what we

call “fold-in” lines. This means thatthese lines will be on the inside ofa crease; you will not be able to seethem once you make the fold. Theyare your main folding guides and arenumbered in the order you should

make the folds. The dotted lines are“fold-away” lines. You’ll be able to seethem on the outside of the creasewhen you make your folds. Theselines are guides to help you know

that you’re folding in the right place.Try to make your creases as sharp

as possible. It’s smart to run a nger-nail over the edge after you make afold. This will help especially withthe planes that have a lot of folds in

one area, like the World Record PaperAirplane and the Pirate’s Secret.Don’t worry if sometimes your

folds are a little off from the dashedand dotted lines. Try your best to foldalong the liens, but if they don’t matchexactly, it’s OK. The plane will probably

come out ne. Do make sure, however,that your plane’s wings are even. Ifthey are different shapes or sizes, it’llbe hard to get the plane to y well.

Adjusting the Planes

Even if you folded your plane per-fectly, there’s a good chance thatit won’t y well. Why not? Becausealmost all paper airplanes need a

little ne-tuning to y properly.

Fast and Slow Adjusting the eleva-

tors is probably the most important

thing you can do to prevent your

plane from diving (when it sud-denly swoops to the ground and

crashes) or stalling (when it climbs,slows, then dives). Elevator adjust-ments also let you make the plane

y fast or slowly. The elevators on a

paper airplane are usually locatedat the back edges of the wings. El-evators on real planes are normally

on the back edge of the tail andwork the same way as elevators on

paper airplanes.

If you nd that your plane is div-ing and crashing, add up elevator

by bending the back edges of thewings up a little.

If you nd your plane is stalling,

you may have added too much upelevator. Flatten the back edges ofthe wings.

The more you bend the eleva-

tor up, the slower the plane will

y. With proper adjustments youcan make it oat through the air.Reduce the amount of up elevatorfor fast ights. Every airplane isdifferent, so it will probably take afew adjustments and throws to n-

tune your plane to y at the speedyou want.

Left and Right Most paper air-

planes have a tendency to turn to

the right or left when they are rstthrown. This can be xed by ad-justing the rudder of the plane. Onmost paper airplanes, the rudder is

the back edge of the body (or fuse-lage). To adjust it, use your ngers

to bend it right or left. Usually youonly need to bend it a little, but

sometimes you will need to bend it

so much that it points directly out

to the side.

If your plane isn’t ying straight,throw it a few times and watchwhich way it turns. Then, holding

your plane from behind, bend therudder in the direction you want it

to go. For example, if your plane isveering off to the right, bend therudder a little to the left. If yourplane is heading to the left, bendthe rudder a little to the right.

If your plane ies straight and

you want it to y to the right, bendthe rudder to the right. Likewise,

if you want your plane to go left,bend the rudder to the left.

Throwing the Planes

Now that you have your elevators

and rudder adjusted, you’re ready

to send your plane soaring. A good

ight requires a good throw. Therst thing to do is get a good grip

on your plane. For most planes,your best bet is to pinch the body

(fuselage) toward the front, usingyour thumb and pointer nger.(The Robo-Chopper, Dragon Ring,and Glider all use different throws;they’re described in the foldingsections for those planes.)

The kind of throw you use dependson how you’ve adjusted your plane. Ifyour plane is set to y slowly (if you’ve

added up elevator), hold the plane justin front of your shoulder and gentlytoss it forward and slightly downward.If your plane is set to y fast (youhaven’t added much up elevator), alsohold the plane in front of your shoul-der but throw it quickly forward. Besure to aim a little past your target.

The World Record Throw

The key to getting a paper airplane

to y for a long time is to get it


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high in the air—at least 50 feethigh for a world record—so it hastime to oat down slowly. The wayto get a paper airplane 50 feet inthe air is to throw it straight up at

60 miles an hour. This requires astrong arm. I developed my throw

by working out with weights and

using what I had learned in a class

on biomechanics, the science ofhow the body works like a ma-

chine. My throw is a combination ofa baseball throw, with a few othermovements thrown in. It’s not a

natural throw at rst, but you canget used to it.

Give it a Try To attempt a world

record throw, you need a large room

with a very high ceiling (such as agym or auditorium) and a World Re-cord Paper Airplane. It’s also handyto have a stopwatch and a pencil

and paper to record your times.

Throw your plane normally a

few times, adjusting it as neededto make sure it’s ying slowly andstraight. When it ies well, beginthrowing a little harder and a little

more upward. Don’t be afraid to trydifferent adjustments to the eleva-tors or rudder to make it y better.

When you’re happy with its ight,throw your airplane as close to

straight up as you can. You can try

to throw it like I do by followingthe pictures here. If you nd thisdifcult, don’t worry; just throw yourplane as high in the air as you can.

My throw, which I developed over

many years, is the best way for meto throw planes. You may develop

your own throwing technique.

If you have a stopwatch, writedown your best times and compare

them with your friends’ ight times.

ELEVATOR EXPERIMENTMake a paper airplane (the Count or the Pirate’s Secret would be good) and throw it without adjusting the elevators. See how it ies. Now bend the elevators up a little andthrow it again. Adjust the plane until you get a smooth ight. Keep bending the elevatorsup and notice how this makes the plane y more slowly. Eventually, the elevators will bebent up so much that the plane will stall because it is trying to y too slowly. The amountof up elevator that makes this happen is dierent for every plane.

FAST FACTEarly airplanes were madeof wood and fabric. For thelast 60 years, airplanes have

been made of aluminum.Airplanes of the future maybe made of lightweight,high-strength plastics called “composites.”

FAST FACTThe earliest known yingdevices were kites madefrom paper over 2,000years ago.

The Basic SquareThe Basic Dart


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SettingUpaPaperAirplaneContestby Rick Romano

When you’re ying paper air-planes with friends, it’s onlynatural that you’ll want to see who

has the best plane and who is the

best ier. What starts out as casualthrowing can easily turn into an

informal paper airplane contest.Contests are fun because they notonly challenge you to do your best,

but also compare your skills with

your friends’, which can help youimprove your techniques. They’re

easy to organize, and can be as

formal or informal as you want.Here are guidelines for setting

up two different types of con-tests—distance and time aloft. Youneed only two people for a contest,but it’s fun to have more. I thinkthree to six is ideal. That means

there are enough people for agood competition, but not so many

that the event gets confusing.

DISTANCE CONTESTS

The challenge here is to see

who can throw his or her plane

the farthest. Ideally, you can setup your contest in a large indoor

space—that way no one has the

advantage of a sudden wind gust.How far is a good distance

ight? Twenty feet is respectable,and thirty feet is a great throw. Fif -ty feet will win most adult contests.The world record for indoor ightis almost 200 feet. Good luck!What You Need. Masking tape or

rope, paper airplanes, small prizes

such as penny candy or stickers

(this is optional).What to Do. Find a place to have

your contest and choose a starting

line. Mark it with masking tape (or,if you’re outdoors, a piece of rope).Gymnasiums are great places fordistance contests, as are long hall-

ways and big rooms. If you can’tnd a big enough indoor space,outside is OK, too. Just choose a

day that’s not too windy.

Fold your planes. You can ask ev-

erybody to use the same model, orlet people choose their own. Make

sure everyone puts his or her name

on the plane.

Let everybody make a few prac-tice throws. Then, when everyone is

ready, have each participant stand

behind the starting line and make

an ofcial throw. Leave all theplanes where they land until every-

one has thrown. The one farthest

from the starting line is the winner.If you have time for another roundor two, ask each person to mark

where his or her plane landed

with a piece of tape (or a stone ortwig, if you’re outdoors), and throwagain. See if all the contestants canimprove their ights.Tips for Winning. Use a point-

ed-nose plane like the Slice or the

Count. Small adjustments are the

secret to making a good paper air-plane into a great one. Make sev-

eral short throws and, after eachone, adjust your plane to improve

its ight. Try to make it y straight(bend the rudder as needed) andfast (you will need very little upelevator). If the contest rules allowit, add a paper clip to the nose ofyour plane. Your best-bet distance

throw is one that’s hard and angled

a little up.TIME ALOFT CONTESTS

This is my favorite kind of contest.The goal is to keep your plane in the

air for the greatest amount of time.You will need a plane that oatswell and you should know how to

ne-tune and adjust it. It’s a test ofboth your paper airplane-making

skills and your ying ability.

How many seconds is a long

ight? Five seconds doesn’t soundlong, but is a good ight. Tenseconds is very difcult—consid-er yourself an expert if you can

get near that. I had to train withweights and practice for years toachieve my world record ight of18.8 seconds.

What You Need. Stopwatch, pencil

or pen and paper, paper airplanes,

small prizes such as penny candy

or stickers (this is optional).What to Do. Find a place to have

your contest. You need a big room

with tall ceilings—a gymnasium

would be good—if you’re going tohave it inside, or a big open area

if you’re going to be outside. Asin distance contests, indoors is

better—it means that no one facesan advantage or disadvantage

from the wind or thermals. But alarge enough indoor space can be

hard to nd, so you’ll likely haveto make do with outside. Choose a

day that’s calm.

Gather supplies that you needand get all your contestants to-

gether. They can make their planes

on the spot, or you can ask them to

bring their planes already folded.Decide in advance if they can useany plane they want or must all use

the same model. Let everyone make

several practice throws and give

each time to adjust their planes.

Choose one person to be the

timer and another to be the judgefor all but their own throws (some-one else can time and record their

throws). The timer uses the stop-watch to time each ight, and thejudge writes down the name ofthe contestant and the number ofseconds the timer calls out. The

timer should start the stopwatch

as soon as the thrower lets go of


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the plane and stop it as soon as

the plane lands (or hits something).The judge tells each person when

he or she can make a throw.

Have everyone make one ofcial

throw. The person with the lon-gest-lasting ight wins the round.It’s fun to have a few rounds. If af -ter a few rounds, two people tie forrst place or have very close times,you can have a runoff betweenthem. The person with the longest

ight of the day wins the contest.

TIPS FOR WINNING

Not surprisingly, I think the

World Record Paper Airplane is

the best plane to use, the Pirate’sSecret, the Aerobat, and the Count

stay aloft well, too. Fly them allbefore the contest and see whichworks best for you. Adjust yourplane to y slowly—use quite abit of up elevator, but not so muchthat it makes the plane “porpoise”up and down. Throw your plane

hard and up. Some planes do best

if you throw them straight up; oth-

ers work better if you bank them(tilt their wings to one side) andthrow them not quite straight up.

THE COUNT

The Count is a ghoulishly good

glider. It’s a type of dart, but hasmore paper in the nose. This gives

it extra stability, making it ideal forlong, straight ights. It’s also goodfor precision ying. With a littlepractice, you can use it to make

pinpoint landings. The Count iesbest if you add a little up eleva-tor, but be careful not to add toomuch—this plane is very sensitive

to elevator adjustments. And re-

member not to let the vampire out

after the sun goes down!

PIRATE’S SECRET

Don’t let the square shape foolyou; this plane will out-glide mostpointed-nose paper planes and is

just as fast. In fact, it’s one of thebest-ying paper planes you willnd anywhere. It is as good at stuntsas it is at distance and accuracy. Ifyou want to perform stunts, makesure to use a lot of up elevator.

Tips for Folding Paper Airplanes

But the best part of this plane isthat it’s an excellent secret messen-

ger. Write a private note to a friendat the X on the back, then fold theplane up and send it on its way.

THE SLICE

I think you will like the avor ofthis paper airplane. It’s a classic dart

(you’ve probably made somethingsimilar before). It is easy to fold,looks good, and ies well, too (es-pecially if you add a little up eleva-tor). It’s excellent for long-distance

ights and ights requiring accura-cy. Try slipping a paper clip over the

nose to create an extra-stable fastier. And don’t let anyone take abite out of your plane!


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FoldingtheSlice

1

4

6

5

7

2 3

Fold plane in half along center, line 5, and reopen.

Fold in along lines 2 and 3. Fold in along lines 3 and 4.

Fold plane in half along center, line 5. Fold one wing down along line 6.

Flip plane over and fold the otherwing up along line 7.

Open plane and fold wing tips upalong lines 8 and 9.


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FoldingthePirate’sSecret

1

4

6

5

7

2 3

Fold up along line 1 to

line 2.

Fold along line 2 to line 3. Fold along line 3 to line

4, and continue foldingthrough line 8.

Flip plane over and fold in half alongline 9.

Fold one wing up along line 10.

Flip plane over and fold the otherwing down along line 11.

Make sure the wings form a slight“Y” shape with the body.


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FoldingtheCount

1

4

7

2

5

8

3

6

9

Fold the plane in halfalong center, line 7, then

reopen the plane.

Fold in along lines 4 and 5.

Fold one wing down

along line 8.

Fold in along lines 1 and 2.

Fold point down along line 6.

Flip the plane over and

fold the other wing downalong line 9.

Fold up along line 3.

Fold the plane in halfalong center, line 7.

Make sure the wings form aslight “Y” shape with the body.


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6

7

8 9


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1 2

3

4 5


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TheClassicDartThis is without doubt the best known of all paper airplanes, probably because its sim-

plicity and beauty have no equal. If you have never folded paper before, this is the bestdesign to start with providing you take your time. If you know how to make it, try to fold

slowly and produce the neatest example you have ever made.

As with all airplanes that have a sharp nose, it is a good idea to cut a small section o tomake it safe when throwing. The eect this has on the ight pattern will be negligible.Start with a rectangle, colored side down. Fold in half width-wise and open.

FLYING HINTS:Launch the dart rmly at a slight upward angle.You may need to adjust the angle of the wings(dihedral) for the best results. Thrown properly, itwill y for more than 30 ft. (10 m).

1

4 5 6

2 3

Lift each corner and fold it tomeet the center crease. Make

sure it lines up exactly.

Mountain fold in half. You maynd it easier to turn the paperover and make a valley fold.

Narrow by taking the foldededges (made in step 1) tomeet the center crease. Try to

keep the upper point sharp.

Open the wings up to

90 degrees.

The Classic Dart nished.Narrow still further by foldingeach of the two folded edg-

es to the right hand verticaledge. Turn the paper round so

it is horizontal.


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BuildingtheClassicGliderThe design of this plane is traditional, but the clever triangular “lock” was made popular

by the eminent Japanese designer of paper airplanes, Eiji Nakamura.

Whereas the classic dart is designed for fast ight, this design concentrates a lot of layers at the front to provide weight and hence stability.

Start with a sheet of A4 colored side down.

1

4

7

2

5

8

3

6

9

Fold the two long sides

together., crease rmly

and open to form thevertical center crease.

Repeat step 2 with the

upper folded edge. Thecorners do not meet the

inside corner, but leave a

triangular ap sticking out.

Fold the rst upper ap downwardto lie along the lower edge. Don’t

atten until you are sure the edg-es are neatly lined up. Repeat on

the other side.

Fold two corners in to lie

along the center crease.

Try to make the edges lieexactly along the crease.

Bring the top corner down-

ward to touch a point a short

distance from the lower edge.Note that the valley crease

does not lie along the inside

edges formed in the last step.

Fold the small triangle upward

to hold the two corners together.

This stops these aps from com-ing loose during ight.

Open both wings to 90 degrees

Use the center crease to mountain

fold the paper in half behind. Youcan fold this in the air, or turn thepaper over on the table and make a

valley fold. Rotate the paper to theposition shown in the next step.

The Classic Glider ready for ight.


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FLYING HINTS:Launch slowly and with moderate strength for asuperbly stable ight-path. Alter the angle of thewings if i dives too quickly. Try dierent angles of

attack for aerobatic stunts.

View from below

Launching position

Top view

America the Beautiful

This magazine is printed on paper

made from sustainable forests.

Letʼs use natural resources to power our future.


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BuildingtheFlyingSaucerAlthough ying saucers are generally circular, we can make an impressive ver-sion using a square. This is easily converted into an octagon, then into a hepta-gon as we make the paper three-dimensional. All the creases are easily located,

providing you take your time. Because it is launched with a spin, this designuses gyroscopic principles rather than those of conventional paper airplanes.

The design was inspired by a saucer made from a circular piece of paper.

1

4 5 6

2 3

Making sure the crease

passes through the center

of the paper, take the lower

center-point to lie along theupper left diagonal…

Repeat step 1 to the right-

hand side and unfold.…like this. Pre-crease thecorner along the deges in front(valleys) and below (mountains).

Open the paper back out.

Fold each corner to the creas-

es made in step 2, then over

again using the crease itself.Turn the paper over.

The paper should now be

octagonal in shape. Fold the

center of each edge to thecenter point, but only crease

between either adjacent di-

agonals before opening. Turnover again.

This is the crease pattern so far.Repeat step 1 twice more using

the location marks shown to

complete the radial creases.

Please note: This is an advanced paper airplane model. Ifyou have trouble folding it, try one of the simpler modelsand work your way up in difculty.


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Start with a brightly colored piece of paper, the heavier the better; youmight even use thin card stock. Foil-backed paper also works very well.

From the white side, crease in half and from corner to corner both ways.Make all these folds valleys and keep it white side up.

7

10 11

8 9

Fold each edge to the “spoke”creases you have just made,

creasing again only between

the diagonals. Then unfold.

Lock the pleat by folding theouter edge to the diagonal, then

folding over using the diagonal.

Make one crease into a moun-

tain, then pleat it sideways,

raising the sides of the paper

to form a central hollow. Thepaper is three dimensional

from here onward.

It came fromouter space!

Lift the paper up an dgentlypress it into shape using the

creases you have made. Go

slowly and try not to force thepaper. Turn the paper over; itshould match the prole below.

FLYING HINTSLaundh the saucer like a frisbee, trying to impart as much spin as pos-sible at the launch by “icking” your wrist. Raise the opposite edge toyour hand upward slightly.


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FoldingtheBoomerangBoomerangs are beautifully curved pieces of wood, but we can makea working version from a rectangle of paper. This design is dierentfrom all the others because very crease is at 45 or 90 degrees. The

sequence is logical and ecient if you crease accurately.

1

4 5 6

2 3

Fold each short edge over a

little way, crease rmly andunfold. Fold the paper in halffrom left to right.

Fold the upper long edge to

the lower.

Take each corner of the foldededge to meet the outside

quarter crease and return.

Open the paper back out.

Then make an inside reversefold using the crease you havejust made.

Using established creases (youwill need to alter the directionof a few) swing the right handap to the left. , raising a smalltriangular ap.

Pre-crease a valley.


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This boomerang uses a 2:1 rectangle (half a square), but it will workfrom other similar rectangles, such as bank checks. The paper needsto be crisp, but not too thick. Start with the colored side down and

crease the short side into quarters.

7

10 11 12

8 9

Fold the quarter ap under-neath, tucking the top end

inside the triangular pocket.

Turn the paper over.

Tuck the upper layer within,

unfolding the triangular apinside. The next three steps

show an enlargement of thecircled area.

Repeat step 6 on this side,

again raising a small

triangular ap.

Mountain fold the small stripunderneath, allowing thecorner to fold in naturally onestablished creases.

This is the result.Fold the left corner to the crease(made in step 1) and unfold.


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13

16

14 15

Fold the layer within.

Then repeat steps 13 and 14locking the other end.

The Boomerang, nished,ready for launch.

Then repeat steps 13 and 14,locking the other end.

Lock the end by tucking the

small ap within the closedpocket. It is easiest to start with

the square end, then the angled

end. Flatten rmly. Turn over.

BOOMERANG FLYING HINTSAlthough the folding was (I hope) straightforward, the launching will take a bit of practice.

Turn your left hand palm up and line up one side of the Boomerang with your third andfourth ngers. Move your rst nger over to hold it in position, then slide the rst ngerof your other hand along the edge of your little nger, striking the Boomerang smartly butsmoothly. You may need to angle the wing upward slightly.

Depending on the force and accuracy of contact, the Boomerang will y forward thenstart to fall back toward you. Adjust the angle of launch so that you can catch it. Launching into a slight breeze will help, but you need to work on the launch to perfect it.

If like Charlie Drake your “boomerang won’t come back”, keep trying; the joy of catching itbefore it lands is well worth the eort!


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