Soar into Fun: Design a Paper Airplane
Fold a single sheet of paper into a dart shape and you have built a flying machine. Every crease you make either helps or hurts how it flies, so follow the steps below and then use the testing section to figure out why yours does what it does.
- A single sheet of paper (8.5 x 11 inches is best)
- A flat surface like a table
- Your hands
Fold it
- Fold the paper in half lengthwise (hotdog style). Open it back up — you now have a center crease to line everything up against.
- Fold the top two corners down to the center crease.
- Fold those top edges down to the center crease again. Your paper should look like a pointy roof now.
- Fold the whole plane in half along the center crease.
- Fold down the wings. Make them even — this is the fold that matters most.
Test it and improve it
Throw it gently and watch what it does. Does it fly straight, or dive, or curl to one side? Now change one thing and throw it again:
- Wing flaps: bend the back edge of the wings up or down.
- Throwing angle: try flatter, try steeper.
- Throwing speed: try a gentle push instead of a hard throw.
- Paper: try a heavier or lighter sheet.
Changing one thing at a time is the whole trick. If you change three things and it flies better, you still do not know which one helped.
If it does not fly well
- It dives straight down. Bend the back edge of both wings up a little.
- It curls to one side. The wings are probably not even. Compare them and refold.
- It stalls and flutters. You may be throwing too hard, or too steeply upward.
- It just will not behave. Check every fold is crisp. Press each one flat with your thumbnail.
Why this works
The wings push air downwards as the plane moves forward, and pushing air down is what holds the plane up. That is why the wings are the part worth fiddling with: change their shape or angle and you change how much air they push.
Have fun building and flying. You could have a contest with a friend to see whose plane flies the farthest.