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Title : Have a fun by flying paper airplanes

Article Author: Gangadhar BK [MS], [BE], JNVD 99passout, presently working in Honeywell as a senior engineer.

Introduction : Children love making and flying airplanes. It’s a kind of a hobby to be them. Making a paper airplane is very easy and less time consuming. These planes are made from a standard sheet of printer paper. I hope this article will bring inspiration and help you to design your own paper airplanes.

History of Paper Airplanes: It is generally believed that Chinese were the first to build Paper Airplanes and kites made out of papyrus paper around 2000 years ago. Since Chinese were early innovators and invented paper “as we know it today”, it follows that they would be among the first to find creative uses for the new substance.

The Montgovier brothers used paper to build hot air balloons. Later they used paper lined cloth to build the first human carrying hot air balloons in 1783. The Wright brothers reportedly use paper planes, wings and airfoils in wind tunnels as part of their quest to build the first powered human carrying airplane. In the 1930s an English business man named Wallis Rigby brought his paper modeling company to the United States.

During World War II governments around the world restricted the use of many materials necessary for the war effort. Wood, plastic, metal and other materials could no longer be spared for toys. Paper on the other hand was available and became a popular material for toy making. Consequently paper modeling became popular.

After the war ended the popularity of paper models declined as the restrictions on materials was eased. In many Eastern block countries the popularity of paper planes continued because of the difficulty of getting affordable models in those countries.

Guinness Records with paper airplanes: Ken Blackburns currently holds the Guinness Book of World Record for time aloft for paper airplanes. He first set the record in 1993(16.3seconds), resetting it in 1987(17.2 sec), 1994 (18.8 sec) lost the record in 1996 and set the current record of 27.6seconds on 10/8/1998 in the Georgia Dome. He currently lives with his wife in laurel Hill, Florida and works for Jacobs Engineering as an aeronautical engineer doing research with

the Air Force at Eglin Air Force Base. One sample airplane making steps: Interceptor

Orient the template with the “UP” arrow at the top of the page. Then, flip the paper over onto its backside

Pull the top right corner down toward you until fold line1 is visible and crease along the dotted line. Repeat with the top

left corner.

Fold the right side over again and crease along fold line 2.

Fold the nose down toward you along fold line 3.

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Fold the nose back up and crease along fold line 4.

Fold the tip of the nose back away from you and crease along fold line 5.

Flip the plane over. Fold the right half of the plane over onto the left half along fold line 6. Cut along the dotted line 7 for the vertical stabilizer.

Flap

Tuck the flap that was formed by your cut between the two halves of the plane and crease it along fold lines 8.

When you have completed the step above, your plane will look like this.

Fold the wings down along fold lines 8 and the winglets up along fold lines 9. Add wing dihedral by tilting the wings up slightly away from the fuselage. The wings will have a slight “V” shape when viewed from the front.

List of Paper airplane models which are taken from references given below:

Helicopter, Dragan, F15, Rapier, Worst, Floating, Swallow, Sabertooth, Cobra, Blimp, Rocket, Frisbee, Arrow, Bulldog, Interceptor, Raptor, Spade, Jet and Bomber, Stealth, Starships, Delta Wing, Canard Flyer, Origami, The Kookaburra, The Eagle, The Leopard, The Jupiter, The Neptune, Hammerhead, Barracuda, Manta Ray, Marlin, Bottlenose, Hawk, Zebra, Wildebeest

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1. Helicopter

2. Dragon

3. F15

4. Rapier

5. Worst

6. Floating

7. Swallow

8. Sabertooth

9. Cobra

10. Paper Blimp

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11. Paper Rocket

12. Paper Frisbee

13. Trap Glider

14. 3x3(my model)

15. jet-fighter

16. Antelope

Folding Technique: Folding technique is very important for successful flights. Make each of the folds carefully and accurately according to the instructions and steps. Creases should be made by applying pressure to the fold with the edge of your thumbnail. This is best achieved by holding your thumbnail on the fold, applying pressure, and pulling your thumb along the fold line toward you. This will produce clean, crisp folds that will allow for accurate paper planes. If you make a mistake on a fold that you cannot correct, don’t be discouraged! Just print another template. EVERY paper airplane needs fine-tuning to achieve its best performance.

Safety: NEVER throw a paper airplane at another person, animal, or object that could be damaged. Paper planes can have sharp edges and points that can injure someone, if you are not careful. Plan ahead and fly in a park, playground, or backyard.

Conclusion: This is one of my hobbies - making paper airplanes and I enjoy it in office and home with my son and other children.

References: http://www.hintsandthings.com/, http://www.sitesforteachers.com/ http://www.zurqui.com/crinfocus/paper/air-bld3.html http://www.paperairplanes.co.uk http://www.paperplane.org/