Forget Everything You Know About Making Paper Airplanes… And Start Making Some Really COOL Paper Airplanes!
By John M. White, ATP, BA, Mba Cessna Citation, DC-3 Type Ratings ThePaperAirplaneCompany.com
First, let me introduce myself to you. I am an Airline Transport Pilot with several aircraft type ratings and have over 7,000 hours of flying time. I met my wife wife while teaching her how to fly, fly, and we own and have owned a number of aircraft including a Piper J-3 Cub, several Piper Warriors, a Piper Navajo and more. I first became interested in flying when I was a young boy when I went to a county fair and saw my first real airplane up close. I had folded paper airplanes and done what so many have done, flown them in class, at fellow students and teachers, and down long hallways. I have built rockets and radio controlled airplanes and helicopters, and have friends who are very involved in these activities. I flew for a corporation for seven years and managed a flight operation consisting of a number of aircraft: 3 Douglas DC-3’s, a Turbo Commander, a Sabreliner and a Hawker Jet. The company I flew for was in the insurance business and when I married I started my own aviation insurance agency which I ran for 30 years and sold in 2004. I still fly paper airplanes, foam gliders, rubber band powered airplanes, radio control airplanes and real airplanes to this day. I fly the paper airplanes, foam gliders and rubber band airplanes with my grand children, the radio control airplanes with my own children and the real airplanes, of course, with my wife (who is also a pilot)! So you can be confident that I know a lot about flying, aerodynamics and aviation. That is why I have built this website and offer resources for anyone interested in any aspect of aviation. I continue to develop aviation businesses, and still actively fly real airplanes. It is my hope that you share my love of aviation and flying, and if these paper airplanes bring you some small pleasure then I will be happy. As you search the web you will find all kinds of paper airplane websites, most with some instructions on how to fold a paper airplane. In order to save you a little time I have included some of the
First, let me introduce myself to you. I am an Airline Transport Pilot with several aircraft type ratings and have over 7,000 hours of flying time. I met my wife wife while teaching her how to fly, fly, and we own and have owned a number of aircraft including a Piper J-3 Cub, several Piper Warriors, a Piper Navajo and more. I first became interested in flying when I was a young boy when I went to a county fair and saw my first real airplane up close. I had folded paper airplanes and done what so many have done, flown them in class, at fellow students and teachers, and down long hallways. I have built rockets and radio controlled airplanes and helicopters, and have friends who are very involved in these activities. I flew for a corporation for seven years and managed a flight operation consisting of a number of aircraft: 3 Douglas DC-3’s, a Turbo Commander, a Sabreliner and a Hawker Jet. The company I flew for was in the insurance business and when I married I started my own aviation insurance agency which I ran for 30 years and sold in 2004. I still fly paper airplanes, foam gliders, rubber band powered airplanes, radio control airplanes and real airplanes to this day. I fly the paper airplanes, foam gliders and rubber band airplanes with my grand children, the radio control airplanes with my own children and the real airplanes, of course, with my wife (who is also a pilot)! So you can be confident that I know a lot about flying, aerodynamics and aviation. That is why I have built this website and offer resources for anyone interested in any aspect of aviation. I continue to develop aviation businesses, and still actively fly real airplanes. It is my hope that you share my love of aviation and flying, and if these paper airplanes bring you some small pleasure then I will be happy. As you search the web you will find all kinds of paper airplane websites, most with some instructions on how to fold a paper airplane. In order to save you a little time I have included some of the
best paper airplanes I have been able to find in this document, but first let’s talk about the history of paper airplanes. Paper airplanes have been around a long, long time. It is believed that the use of paper to create toy airplanes began some 2,000 years ago in China. China. The original paper airplanes were really kites kites because the concept of flying machines (airplanes) had not come into existence yet. The Japanese developed an art of paper folding called “origami”, and the creation of toy paper airplanes was called “aerogami”. These folded models became very popular because they required only a little piece of paper and a little skill to construct. The earliest paper airplanes, or basic paper airplanes, would take about six (6) steps to correctly correctly complete. After the Second World War those living in Eastern Europe and other poor countries began to create paper model airplanes and other transportation devices such as trains and ships, and these models were called “card models”. This was due to the fact that those countries were not only poor, but did not trade with the West and therefore more modern plastic models were simply not available to them. Today the art of creating paper airplane models continues, and young people intrigued with airplanes, space and flying continue to learn how to make various kinds of paper airplanes by folding sheets of paper they can find and use. Who hasn’t sat in a classroom and seen a paper airplane fly across the room towards a teacher? Some paper airplane models, also called card airplane models, are so lifelike that they can compete with wood or plastic models in appearance. These kinds of paper model airplanes have the advantage that the paint scheme can be printed on the paper before construction begins giving these paper model airplanes a realistic look. If you have ever seen some of these models on display you would be amazed at their appearance and not even realize that they were paper until you picked them up! In fact the art of creating paper models continues to this day.
In fact we offer some of the most unique and realistic paper airplanes on this website, one of which you can see below. Before you go on to see a selection of paper airplanes you can fly I would like to make you an offer – a free copy of the Piper J-3 Cub airplane you see below. This model sells on our web site site for $ 6.95 but you can get it for FREE simply by going to the following link or clicking on the image and entering your first name and email address: Download The Piper J-3 Cub Paper Paper Ai rpl ane Model Model
I hate spam, and I will never sell or give any of your information to any third party. I will send you occasional emails when I find another paper airplane model I think you might be interested in, or some special offers I think you might be interested in. If, at any time, you do not wish to not receive any further information from me you can simply click the link at the bottom of any email from me and you will be removed from our my – it’s that simple!
This list of paper airplane models starts with the easiest and moves on to the more difficult ones. A Si m p l e Paper Pap er A ir p lan la n e
- Page 6
A Fl app ap p i n g Pap Pa p er Ai r p l ane an e
- Page 10
A Pap er Heli co p ter te r
- Page 16
A Del t a Win Wi n g Paper Pap er A ir p l ane an e
- Page 20
The Cobra Paper Paper Air plane pl ane
- Page 24
The Classic Dart Dart Paper Paper Air plane plan e
- Page 29
The Edmonto n Shadow Paper Paper Airp lane
- Page 30
The Flying Fish Paper Paper Air plane
- Page 32
The Rapi Rapi er Paper Paper Air plane pl ane
- Page 37
The Swallow Swallow Paper Paper Airp lane
- Page 39
The Horizon Paper Paper Airp lane
- Page 44
The J.A. Paper Paper Airp Ai rplane lane
- Page 46
The Lun ar Hawk Hawk Paper Paper Airp lane
- Page 48
The Quasar Quasar Clipper Paper Paper Airp lane
- Page 50
The Smasher Paper Air plane pl ane
- Page 52
The Trigon Paper Paper Airp lane
- Page 53
The Blue Angels Paper Paper Air plane
- Page 55
The Red Red Arro ws Paper Paper Air plane
- Page 56
A Si mple Paper Ai rplane:
1.
Fold a standard piece of printer paper (typically 8.5 by 11 inches) vertically in half and crease.
2.
Open up the paper so that the crease is pointing up and fold two adjacent corners to the middle crease.
3.
Fold the point made in the previous step down to the crease so that the flaps are tucked under this fold. Now this should look somewhat like the back of an envelope.
4.
Note where points meet crease, 2/3 away from folded edge Fold the two corners created by the previous step to the center crease so that the points are about 2/3 of the way down the center crease flap.
5.
Fold at the green line, where the edges of the point meet the edges of the fold
Fold from the green outline to the purple outline Fold up the point that has been covered in the previous step so that it secures the flaps against the crease.
6.
Fold the paper airplane in half so that all the folds made in the previous steps are facing outwards.
7.
The top, slanted edge (yellow) should meet the bottom, horizontal edge (also yellow) by folding along the green line
Fold the wings down to the bottom so that the wings are perfectly aligned with the bottom of the airplane.
8.
Unfold the wings slightly so that they are perpendicular to the body of the airplane and form a flat surface next to each other. Test fly to get the feeling of how to throw the airplane by starting rather gently so that it glides along in the air, then experiment with medium to hard throws, and you will find that it flies very well indeed!
If your airplane does not fly well, tape the wings together but don't use too much - you don't want to throw off the balance of the airplane. You could also try a very small amount of glue. Fly it on a hot day from a high place: it will catch thermals and cover a longer distance. This paper airplane works best when thrown gently so don't throw it as hard as you can.
A Fl apping Paper Ai rplane: 1. Start with a sheet of paper.
2. Fold diagonally in order to create a square.
3. Cut or tear off the excess paper.
4. Now you have a square.
5. Create creases along the diagonals.
6. Push in the sides.
7. Collapse to form a triangle.
8. Unfold the left side.
9. Fold the side down.
10. Unfold the flap you just folded on step nine, then fold a new, smaller flap.
11. Refold along flap created in step nine.
12. Flip the small flap up.
13. Repeat steps 9-12 on opposite side, then fold the wings up.
14. Turn the flapper right side up.
15. Now, to fold the front end...
16. Place a small coin into one of the two slots at the front of the plane.
17. Fold the right flap over the two slots (one of which has a penny/small coin in it) and tuck inside.
18. Fold other flap over previous flaps.
19. Tape flap to plane.
20. To fly the flapper, hold it in front and throw hard for optimal flapping.
A Pap er Heli co pter:
This is how to make a paper helicopter. When you drop this helicopter from your hand it will slowly spin and fall until it reaches the floor. You may have to cut the wings, so they are thinner or thicker, to get the best flight. You can bend the wings upwards slightly which will make it spin sooner. For best results drop from as high a place as possible.
1. Get an index card (a 3 by 5card works best but you can use any rectangular index card).
2. Fold the card in half and unfold.
Step2
3. Cut about half way down the crease that you folded.
Step3 4. Now cut about 1/3 through the paper laterally a little below your first cut from the long edge.
Step4
5. Fold both of the sections you made in step 4 in like these pictures:
Step5
Step5
6. Fold the cuts you made in step 1 in opposite directions on either side, forward and backward. Than add a paperclip on the very bottom of the helicopter and you're done! Your helicopter should look like the picture in the introduction.
7. Drop from your hand from as high a place you can and watch it spin as it falls.
A Del ta Wing Paper Ai rplane: The delta wing design, in which the wings are triangular, offer modern airplanes several advantages that enhance speed and maneuverability. The same concept can be applied on a much smaller scale to paper airplanes. Make sure that all folds are carefully made, and use a light weight paper. When you throw your model be sure you through it gently with the nose pointed slightly upwards. If necessary you can put a small paper clip on the nose for ballast. Use a straight edge on the creases and be careful to fold exactly as outlined below.
1.
8.5x11 sheet of paper Get a standard piece of printer paper (US Letter-8.5 by 11 inches, or A4 size).
2.
Unfolded paper Fold and unfold the paper vertically and horizontally to form center creases.
3.
Fold top corners to center Fold the two top corners down to meet at the center of the paper, leaving a flat area at the top.
4.
Fold top down to center Fold the top of the paper down to the center of the paper.
5.
Fold top corners to center crease Fold down top corners to meet at the center crease, this time leaving a point at the top.
6.
Fold paper in half Fold the paper in half along the center crease.
7.
Draw line Draw a line 3/4 of an inch (1.9 cm) from the center fold.
8.
Fold wing down Fold wing down along line that was drawn. Repeat for other side.
9.
Fold wing tip up Fold wing tip up. Repeat for other side.
10.
Ready for Flight Adjust the angles of the wings so it looks like the one shown.
While folding and flying a paper airplane can be fun, there comes a time when you need to move on to something more challenging. One really great idea is to get some tri-linear flyers which you can find at The Paper Airplane Company.
The Cobr a Paper Ai rpl ane: Hold a sheet of paper in portrait orientation and fold in half (lengthways) along the line shown in Figure 1 then open out again.
Figure 1 Now fold in the top left and top right corners of the paper to the centre line as shown in Figure 2.
Figure 2 Fold down the tip of the plane to the centre of the bottom of the top triangle. This fold is shown by an arrow in Figure 3.
Figure 3
Now comes the first tricky bit. Open up the paper to it's original form so that the dotted lines shown in Figure 4 mark out the creased lines on the paper. Next, pull in the corners and top centre of the paper along the arrows shown in Figure 4 so that the plane passes through the step shown in Figure 5 . •
Figure 4 The plane should fall relatively comfortably into the form shown in Figure 5 due to the existing creases. •
Figure 5 Fold down the trapezium shape at the top of Figure 6 along the bottom edge of the folded down paper. There are little dotted indicators at each end of the line in Figure 6 to indicate which line to fold along.
Figure 6
Now fold and unfold as indicated by the arrows on Figure 7. This involves folding the top left and right corners into the centre line of the plane at the bottom of the flap folded down in the previous step.
Figure 7 Flip over the plane and fold in the opposite direction along the creases created in the previous step then unfold as indicated by the arrows in DIG. 8.
Figure 8 The top left and right corners (labeled A and B) must now be tucked under the flap formed in step 7 (colored in red) so that they meet at the centre line of the plane at the bottom edge of that flap. The labels are shown in Figure 9 and the folding should pass through the form shown in Figure 10 where the red arrows indicate pressure being applied. The positions the arrows are applying pressure to are the corners labeled A and B.
Figure 9
Figure 10 Fold the plane in half along the centre line in Figure 11 keeping all the folded sections on the outside when folding.
Figure 11 Fold down the wings along the dotted lines indicated in DIG. 12 and DIG. 13 to give the form shown in DIG. 14 then open up to give the plane as shown at the top of the page.
Figure 12
Figure 13
Figure 14
The Classic Dart Paper Airplane: Take an A4 sheet and fold it in half Fold the short edge of one side down to the first fold (ie produces a 45Degree angle). Do this for the other side too. Fold down the new fold you have created to the original fold you did in (1). Repeat for the other side. Do (3) again for both sides Hold Centre and open wings out. Now Throw!!! Hold Centre and open wings out. Now Throw!!!
The Edmon ton Shadow Paper Air plane: Take some A4 (8 1/2" by 11") paper and lay it landscape. Fold creasing hard along the center line then open it out again and fold along the two dotted lines in Figure 1 I find that the steeper the angle the better the flight at the end. You will get the body in Figure 2 note the fact that the flap folded over on top does not overlap the one beneath and that the shape of the plane is totally symmetrical.
Figure 1 Now fold down the nose you are left with along the dotted line in DIG. 2 to give the body in DIG. 3.
Figure 2 Fold along the two dotted lines in Figure 3 forming the shape in Figure 4 (having brought the two sides of the front edge to meet in the center line)
Figure 3 Now fold along the center of the plane and fold down the two wings as indicated by the dotted lines in Figure 4 to give you a plane looking like that at the top of the page. To improve flight the two wingtips at the very rear of the plane should be folded up totally.
Figure 4
The Flyin g Fish Paper Airpl ane: First make the normal fold down the middle as shown in Figure 1 and then re-open the paper flat (but with a crease down the middle).
FIGURE 1 Then fold in the top left hand corner to the center line and the top right hand corner in the same manner along the diagonal dotted lines shown in FIGURE 2 this should give you the form in FIGURE 3 (yellow denotes the "underside" of the sheet of paper)
FIGURE 2 Fold the two sides EQUALLY in to the center line along the dotted lines in FIGURE 3. This should give the symmetric form in FIGURE 4
FIGURE 3 Simply fold point A to meet point B in FIGURE 4 make this fold along the dotted line and then crease hard and open the paper again then fold along this line in the opposite direction, crease hard and unfold again.
FIGURE 4 Now fold C to meet D (indicated in FIGURE 5), crease hard and unfold. Repeat with A and B.
FIGURE 5 In FIGURE 6 press in on the points marked C and D pushing the paper up along the fold made in Step 4 and giving the pushed inwards and upwards sides hopefully indicated in FIGURE 6.
FIGURE 6
FIGURE 7 Now fold up point A marked in FIGURE 7 to meet point B. This should only involve folding up a flap of paper. The crease should be made VERY HARD and then unfolded and this flap tucked inside the nose of the plane. There should be a very obvious pocket in which to do this.
FIGURE 8
Now simply fold out the undercarriage as shown in FIGURE 8 to give FIGURE 9. This final form should then be thrown by holding the pocket mentioned in Step 7 and angling the nose of the plane very slightly downwards. A gentle throw will result in a long glide.
FIGURE 9
The Rapier Paper Airplane: First take a rectangular A4 (8 1/2" by 11") sheet of paper and fold down the center dotted line on FIGURE 1 opening it out again afterwards.
Take the first 1cm (1/2") of the rectangular sheet and fold it up along the dotted line in FIGURE 2.
Fold the flap over and over until about 3/8 of the length of the sheet is folded in this concertina fashion as in FIGURE 3 this should give a heavy and thick front lip.
Now fold along the two dotted lines in FIGURE 3 bringing the top edges into the center line and fold along the center line to give FIGURE 4 as a side view.
FIGURE 4 Fold the wings down along the dotted line in FIGURE 4 one either side of the center. Now the plane should look like the diagram at the top of the page.
The Swallow Paper Ai rpl ane:
1. Start with an ordinary sheet of 8 1/2" x 11" - 21.6 x 28 cm (U.S.standard writing paper size). The exact size is not important, it should be rectangular and not square. The paper should be at least 20 Lb. bond or copy paper. 2. Fold over the left hand corner as shown. 3. Crease
4. Result 5. Fold over the right hand corner. 6. Crease
7. Result 8. Carefully close in the sides as shown. 9. Fold down the center line from front to back.
10. Fold the resulting left hand tip up as shown. 11. Crease along the bottom edge. 12. Repeat the same procedure on the right section.
13. Fold the left hand point back. 14. Crease 15. Mirror the same folds on the right panel.
16. Bend the left panel as shown. 17. Crease from back to front only 2/3 of the way. 18. Study photos 18 and 19 carefully. These folds are difficult to describe. Try to duplicate them as shown in the photos.
19. Mirror the folds on the right. 20. Turn the plane over and fold the point back and crease as shown. 21. Turn the plane over again. The result should be similar to the photo.
22. Crease wing as shown. 23. Moisten the crease with your tongue. Do this slowly and carefully or you could receive a painful paper cut on your tongue. 24. Carefully tear off strip of paper. Save the strip of paper because you are going to need it to make the tail.
25. To make the tail, fold down the center of the strip of paper to form a trough. 26. Tear as shown to form control surfaces. The folds should be parallel with the bottom of the trough. 27. Fold wings up.
28. Fold the right wing down as shown in photos 28 and 29. Take special care to angle this fold in such a way so that the leading edge of the wing is slightly higher than the trailing edge. 29. Study this photo and you will see that the fold is not exactly parallel with the trough at the bottom but slightly angled as described in photo 28. 30. The plane should look like this at this point.
31. Bend the wingtips up. 32. Insert tail into slot under wing. 33. Finished at last!
34. Aircraft shown with landing gears down. Note: the craft does not fly as well with the gears down. 35. Ready to fly! Preflight inspection Before you fly the model plane for the first time you should examine it ca refully looking directly at the front and the rear. Just like a real airplane, the left and right side must be the same, that is a mirror image of each other. If one wing is higher then the other or the surfaces are not at the same angle, or the tail is crooked, then the plane is likely to fly poorly. Make any adjustments to correct these problems now. Flight techniques This is the fun part, learning to fly. The airplane can be launched with force or softly. Launching it on a windy day directly into the breeze causes it to climb into a half barrel roll. For a second it will fly upside down and then flip over and fly a long distance with the wind. On calm days you can launch it gently horizontally. It has a long glide path and will generally go in a straight line or go into a gentle curve. Fine tuning If you find that the plane is banking to the left or right, you can correct this by experimenting with bends on the control surfaces. To gain extra control, cut flaps on the rear edge of the wings and bend the flaps up or down as needed. You can also try bending the wing tips down instead of up.
The tail flaps can be bent up slightly if the plane tends to dive. All changes should be made with small adjustments and then a test flight to analyze the change. Make more than one model airplane. You will find that they all have unique flight characteristics, no two are alike. Choose the one that flies best and try to find out why it flies so well. Try making really large versions of this plane using construction or ledger paper. They fly just as well only higher and farther.
Horizon Note: Red lines are for folds, blue li nes indicate existing creases.
Step 1
Step 2
Step 3
Fold paper in half long ways and crease. Unfold.
Fold top corners in so that corners meet at centerline and creases pass through bottom corners.
Fold in half from top to bottom.
Step 4
Step 5
Fold top corners down so that edges meet at centerline. Crease well. Now unfold these corners.
Grab corner 1 and fold along centerline. This will stretch out the left crease made in step 4. Flatten well and grab both halves at corner 2 and fold back to left side along centerline. Flatten well and return the top half back to the right.
Horizon
Step 6
Step 7
Fold nose flap up as far as possible. Flatten all folds well.
Fold corners down to meet at centerline.
The horizon is a fast straight plane. When 24-lb. paper is used it will fly a very good distance if thrown a little harder than most gliders. It can fly fairly well when made with lighter paper. It is not easy to fold perfectly symmetrical but doesn’t require perfection to function well.
Step 8
Step 9
Step 10
Fold corners shown and tuck in behind inner flaps.
Fold in half along centerline with smooth side on inside.
Fold wings over ¾” from centerline. Fold tail on diagonal 2” up from bottom edge down to where the wing crease meets the back edge. Crease. Unfold and use index finger to push into center of body.
Step 11 Fold fins up 1 1/8” from edges.
Flight Instructions Make sure wings are level (or slightly up) and fins are straight up. Throw level at a “medium” or a “high” speed. Trim per general instructions if required but the plane seems to do well “as folded” on a variety of paper. It may do better if leading edges of wings are taped together.
J.A.Plane J.A.Plane Note: Red lines are for folds, blue li nes indicate existing creases, and green lines represent hidden edges.
Step 1
Step 2
Step 3
Fold paper in half long ways and crease. Unfold.
Fold paper in half vertically as shown.
Fold top corners down to meet at center line and crease. Unfold.
Corner 1
Corner 2
Step 4 Grab corner 1 and fold along centerline. This will stretch out the top left corner. Flatten well and grab both halves at corner 2. Fold back towards left side along centerline. Flatten well and return upper flap to the right. Line A
Edge 2
J. A. Plane
Edge 3 Point 1
Step 5 Pick up at point 1 and fold along line A. This will stretch edges 2 & 3 (hidden under flap) to meet at the centerline. Flatten well.
This plane is a very good glider that works on most types and weights of paper with little adjustment. Works better with a little tape on the nose but can be trimmed without it. It flies better than a lot of the other planes when using 20 lb paper.
Step 6
Step 7
Step 8
Step 9
Fold top corner down as shown.
Fold corner over as shown crease and unfold.
Reverse fold corner and tuck in behind inner flaps.
Repeat steps 6 thru 8 for other side.
2 1/2"
7/8"
7/8"
Step 10
Step 11
Step 12
Turn plane over and fold plane in half.
Fold wings over 7/8" from centerline. Fold tail 2 ½" from bottom edge as shown. Crease and unfold. Push tail up into center of body.
Fold fins up 7/8" from edge.
Flight Instructions Make sure wings are level (or slightly up) and fins are straight up. Throw level at a “medium” or a “high” speed. Trim per general instructions if required but the plane seems to do well “as folded” on a variety of paper. It may do better if nose and leading edges of wings are taped together.
Lunar L unar Hawk H awk L unar H awk Note: Red lines are for folds, blue li nes indicate existing creases, and green lines represent hidden edges.
Lunar Hawk
Step 1
Step 2
Fold paper in half long ways and crease. Unfold.
Fold top corners down to meet at center.
This plane has a unique look. I saw something similar to it on the net, but that one did not fly well. I spent some time trying different measurements and was finally able to come up with a working plane that kept the unique look. This plane is one of the more difficult to fold and requires a paper that will stretch without tearing. I have found several types of 24 lb. ink jet paper that do work well. You may waste a few pieces getting this one right. As fast as it likes to fly it may be a good choice for gluing up and shooting with rubber band shooter.
3"
Step 3
Step 4
Fold top corner down 3.0" as shown. Crease and unfold
Fold top corner down to meet crease just made as shown.
2"
1 1/8"
Step 5
Step 6
Step 7
Step 8
Refold top edge along existing
Flatten well and fold along centerline.
Fold tail section at dimensions shown both toward front and back.
Unfold steps 7 and 6. Fold top corners down to meet centerline.
3/4"
Edge A Edge B
Step 9
Step 10
Step 11
Step 12
View after step 8. Flip plane over from left to right.
Fold both edges over ¾" as shown. Crease and unfold.
Flip plane back over left to right.
Fold edge A to meet edge B. Flatten well. Repeat for left side.
Edge C
Flap A Edge D
Flap B
Step 13
Step 14
Step 15
As best as possible fold edge C to centerline. Only the bottom portion will align to center. Lightly crease lower part of fold as shown with red dotted line. Unfold and repeat with edge D.
Here is the hard part. Grab and raise flaps A and B to meet each other. Holding both flap together gently push down towards centerline of plane. This should squash the plane into the shape shown to right. Carefully flatten all creases. Tape body flaps together.
Fold flaps as shown. Note: plane is shown upside down and flaps will point down on completed plane.
Finished plane
Flight Instructions Make sure wings are slightly up and fins are straight down. Throw level at a “high” speed. Trim by adjusting how much up angle (dihedral angle) the wings have. This will adjust the tail to give a straight flight. If problems continue, adjust tail size. This plane should be able to make a long straight flight.
Quasar Clipper Note: Red lines are for folds, blue li nes indicate existing creases, and green lines represent hidden edges.
Quasar Clipper
Step 1
Step 2
Fold paper in half long ways and crease. Unfold.
Fold top corners down to meet at center. Unfold.
This plane is a fast and easy to make glider. Between it and its sister design, Clipper Too, you should get a good flier on most types and weights of paper. This design can be used to make heavier planes to be launched with a rubber band shooter.
Edge A Point 4 Point 3 Crease B
Point 1 Point 2
Step 3
Step 4
Step 5a
Fold top point down to meet point 1 as shown. Crease and unfold. Fold top point down to meet point 2 as shown. Crease and unfold.
Fold top flap down along edge A.
Grab point 3 and fold on centerline. This will stretch point 4 to the centerline by folding on crease B.
Point 5 Flap C
Flap D
Line E
Step 5b
Step 6
Repeat for right side grabbing point 5 and folding along centerline. Return Flap C back to the right side. Flatten well.
Tuck flap D inside by folding in at Line E. Flatten well.
Line G
Flap F
Step 7 Fold flap F along center to right side. Fold right side along line G. Return flap F to right side by folding back on centerline.
2 3/8"
7/8"
1 1/16"
Step 8
Step 9
Step 10
Repeat step 7 for left side and fold plane in half.
Fold wings over 7/8" from centerline. Fold tail 2 3/8" from bottom edge as shown. Crease and unfold. Push tail up into center of body.
Fold fins up 1 1/16" from edge.
Flight Instructions Make sure wings are level (or slightly up) and fins are straight up. Throw level at a “medium” or a “high” speed. Trim per general instructions if required but the plane seems to do well “as folded” on a variety of paper. It may do better if nose and leading edges of wings are taped together.
Smasher Note: Red lines are for folds, blue li nes indicate existing creases, and green lines represent hidden edges.
Smasher This plane is a very fast and very easy to make glider. This design can be used to make heavier planes to be launched with a rubber band shooter. Fins may have to be turned down. Step 1
Step 2
Fold paper in half long ways and crease. Unfold.
Fold top corners down to meet at center. Unfold.
Flight Instructions Make sure wings are level (or slightly up) and fins are straight up. Throw level at a “high” speed. Trim per general instructions if required. It will do better if nose is taped together.
Point 2
Point 1
Step 3
Step 4
Step 5
Fold top section down as shown. Flatten well.
Fold point 1 up to meet top edge.
Fold top corners down to meet centerline at point 2.
7/8"
1 1/16"
Step 6
Step 7
Step 8
Fold in half and flatten well.
Fold wings over 7/8" from centerline.
Fold fins up 1 1/16" from edge.
Trigon Note: Red lines are for folds, blue li nes indicate existing creases.
Trigon This plane like Smasher is a quick and easy plane to make. It is also a good choice to make out of 28 lb (or heavier) paper for rubber band launching. Top nose flaps can be tap ed together but should not be taped to main wing. Bottom nose flaps can be taped to wing at leading edge. This plane flies as a fast glider on all weights of paper.
Step 1 Fold paper in half long ways and crease. Unfold.
Step 2 Fold upper right corner so that it touches left edge and the crease ends at the lower right corner. Refold at center crease (a ruler or straight edge is a plus here). Unfold both folds.
Flight Instructions Make sure wings are level (or slightly up) and fins are straight up. Throw level at a “medium” or "high" speed for glider. Trim per general instructions. Add tail only if necessary for a particular type paper. Normally trailing edge adjustments work fine.
Edge C Line B
Line A
Edge C
Crease 2 Crease 1
Step 3 (completed)
Step 4
Step 5
Repeat step 2 instructions for left side.
Fold on creases 1 and 2 bringing lines A and B to center. This will cause edge C to puff up. Flatten edge C down as shown
Fold top down along edge C.
Step 6
Step 7
Step 8
Flatten all folds well.
Fold left and right upper corners as shown.
Fold plane in half.
7/8"
1 1/16"
Step 9
Step 10
Fold wings down 7/8" from center edge.
Fold flaps up 1 1/16" from each corner.
Fold #10 Outwards
Fold #9 inwards and flatten excess paper into fold
Fold #8 inwards
Fold #1 inwards
Fold #7 inwards
Fold #6 inwards
Fold #5 inwards
Fold #4 inwards
Fold #3 inwards
Fold #2 inwards
