Fold-N-Fly Paper Airplanes
History of Paper Airplanes
It is widely believed and accepted that the history of paper airplanes finds it roots in ancient China, where paper was used to create the first flying kites. We’ve all heard of Origami, the art of folding pieces of paper into works of art. Well, as it turns out, while the name Origami is indeed of Japanese origin, the art of folding paper into objects originated in China. At some point in history the Japanese perfected the craft and thus the name Origami stuck and many people simply assume it’s the Japanese who invented it. Like Origami, we can trace the history of paper airplanes back to China.
Because of the nature of paper airplanes (they aren’t exactly durable) and the absence of earlier writings, it’s difficult to say exactly when the first planes were introduced. And it’s safe to say that we don’t have any examples of those earliest planes. Some say Leonardo Da Vinci was the first to create what we know as modern pieces of flying paper, giving way to the belief that what the earliest Chinese were making had no “direct” bearing to paper airplanes since they didn’t know about nor could they have used the principles of loft and wind resistance. Its most likely true that the early Chinese didn’t construct planes in the way we think of them today; most likely they were more reminiscent of birds in design and used only the force of thrust from throwing to “fly” rather than also using the resistance of wind, though they did master kites so again, we’re speculating.
According this article at Yale University onPaper Airplanes, Leonardo Da Vinci was the first to recognize that air offered resistance to motion, and it wasn’t until 100 years later that Galileo claimed that velocity and air resistance are relative and proportional. So you can see, it wasn’t until much later that we began to first look at the scientific and mathematical implications of flight. Others had a hand in this early discovery, men like Christian Huygens and Isaac Newton.
However, credited with the first break-through in heavier-than-air flight isSir George Cayley, who identified the four aerodynamic forces of flight: weight, lift, drag, and thrust. In 1799 he is alleged to have developed the closest ancestor to what we know of today as paper airplanes. Pictured here is his design which clearly features wings, a fuselage and a cruciform tail, and also his depictions and writings indicate the use of a moveable rudder and elevators.
Parts of the Paper Airplane:
Dihedral – The angle between a plane’s wings is what an engineer will call the “dihedral”. Every winged airplane flies best with a positive dihedral, which means that your plane must look like this when you look at it from the tail.
Elevators – The Small flaps in a plane’s wings that make the plane go up and down are the “elevators”. A plane with up elevators will fly higher and longer, while a plane with down elevators will prevent a plane from flying too high and diving.
Ailerons – Ailerons look just like elevators but are at the ends of the wings, not in the middle. An aileron will make a plane bank or roll. An aileron in the right wing of a plane will make it bank and turn left, an aileron in the left wing makes it bank and turn right.
Design Considerations:
- Perfect Folds – Paper planes that actually fly must begin with perfect folds. Take your time, measure accurately, line up edges, crease neatly and firmly,
- Symmetry – Every paper plane must be exactly the same on both sides. The right wing must be a mirror image of the left wing or your plane will either not fly straight or not fly at all.
- The Throw – The first two or three throws with any paper airplane must be light and breezy. No matter how perfect your folds are or how good your symmetry is, if you throw too hard in the beginning your plane will crash! Once it begins flying the way you think it should, then you can throw as hard and as far as you want to.
- Throw, Check, and Tweak – If you cannot get your plane to fly just right, take a minute and check the folds, the symmetry, the dihedral (wing angle), as well as the elevators and ailerons. The best way to check your plane is to hold your plane up to your eye and stare right down the middle. This will help you make sure you have made all of the folds the same on both sides and that the wings angle upward.
- Second Try – If you cannot make your plane fly, regardless of how perfect it looks, take a deep breath, and make a second plane from a different piece of paper. Sometimes there is just no explaining it – certain paper airplanes just will not fly!
Engineering Design Challenges:
You will choose ONE of the following competitions to enter. Each competition requires a completely different plane design and so you must choose which design of plane to build to succeed at the particular challenge that you choose. You plane must be built from standard 8-1/2” x 11” paper and the only other material/item that you can used are paperclips.
- Design and build a plane that will fly AS FAR AS POSSIBLE. We will fly our planes in the cafeteria on “Test Day” but you will be restricted to the Engineering Lab for initial testing prior to that time.
- Design and build a plane that will stay aloft for as long as possible (LONGEST HANG TIME). Again, we will fly these planes in the cafeteria on “Test Day” but you will be restricted to the Engineering Lab for initial testing prior to that time.
- Design and build a plane that will LAND ON A TARGET. There are two targets, one at 25 feet and another at 35 feet. You will get three throws to score as many points as possible
Reminder: You can only enter ONE of the above competitions.
Online Patterns:
Fold-N-Fly -
Fun Paper Airplanes -
The Art of Manliness – How to Make the World’s Best Paper Airplanes -
Paper Planes HQ – How to Make Paper Planes -
10 paper Airplanes.com -