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Classic Paper Airplanes

© Copyright 2003, Jim Loy

On the left is my version of the classic paper airplane. Take a piece of paper, and crease it (fold it then unfold it) in half lengthways. Then fold the two top corners in the same direction to meet on the crease, as shown on the far left. Then fold again in the same direction, so these corners meet at the crease, as shown in the second picture. This begins to look like the classic dart shape of a paper airplane. Now fold the original crease, so you have a rough triangle, as shown in the third picture. Make the next fold like the previous folds (lengthways), but bend it in the opposite direction, to make one wing. This fold can be wherever you want it, within reason, making the wing wider or narrower. The classic design makes a fairly narrow wing; I prefer a wider wing. Copy this fold for the other wing. You may want to bend the wing tips up, as I show here. I also show the plane as seen from the rear. You see that the folds have been adjusted to produce a dihedral angle, which means that the two wings are at the same angle. This angle is positive, meaning that the ends of the wings are higher than the base of the wings. This makes the plane stable, so it won't fly upside down. You may want to put a small piece of tape between the two wings, so the plane won't unfold. After flying the plane, you may have to bend the back of the wing upward slightly, to improve the flight characteristics. This plane often acquires a bent nose.

Here is another popular paper airplane. We start much like the above plane. Then we fold the nose back into what will be the inside of the plane. Then we fold along the gray lines in the diagram, to get a good dihedral angle, and to fold the wing tips upward, as shown in the rear view (at the top of the diagram). As in the above plane, you may want to use a piece of tape between the wings. The amount that we fold the nose determines how nose-heavy the plane is, so you may want to experiment with different size noses. This plane may work better with a shorter piece of paper (shorter than 8.5x11, but longer than a square).

Here is a much different kind of plane, a flying wing. We fold the leading edge of the wing several times to make it heavier. Then we fold a positive dihedral angle, and nearly vertical wing tips. To throw this one, hold it in the back center of the wing, and gently move it forward and release it. Make adjustments to the dihedral angle, and bend the back of the wing slightly upwards, to get a gentle glide path. You might want to use tape on this one, so the folds won't unfold, but that is usually not necessary.

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