Four Paper Airplanes

These instructions show how to make a few paper airplanes for various purposes. In case you want to decorate your airplanes, each one has a diagram showing where all of the final surfaces will be on the original sheet of paper. Since the exact placement of folds varies, it is recommended that you fold and unfold the plane once before attempting to decorate. Bear in mind that not all of the dividing lines are actual folds.

The Eagle is very fast. Unlike the similar-looking Dart, the Eagle has a compacted front end, giving it additional stability. This prevents planes from stalling.

Prepare a basic plane design by folding a nose.

Fold the nose back.

Fold another nose.

Fold yet another nose. This one should extend beyond the bottom of the page.

Fold along the main crease, bringing the nose together.

Fold to form wings. The edge of each wing should be able to touch the main crease. Once this is done, the Eagle is finished.

The Sabertooth glides well and has a curved flight path. If thrown at a very high speed, it curves upward.

Prepare a basic plane design by folding a nose.

Fold the nose back.

Flip over the paper horizontally. No folding is involved in this step.

Fold another nose. The previous nose should become visible.

Flip over the paper again. No folding is involved in this step.

Fold the tip back to the end of the diamond shape.

Flip over the paper once again. No folding is involved in this step.

Fold the flaps outward to form the “saber teeth” of the airplane. The edges of the teeth should be diagonal, so the folds should be somewhere between horizontal and diagonal.

Fold along the main crease, bringing the teeth together.

Fold at the teeth to form wings. Fold along the wings to form wing flaps. For the Sabertooth, each flap should be half as wide as the resulting wing, i.e. one third of the original wing.

Cut off pockets to improve aerodynamics. How much you cut is up to you. If imperfection is not a possibility, ask an aeronautical engineer for help. Once this step is done, the Sabertooth is finished.

The Squirrel is designed to perform stunts. Which stunt it performs depends on how it is tweaked and how it is thrown. Camel humps and loops are the easiest stunts. Also, the Squirrel’s front end is very durable.

Prepare a basic plane design by folding a nose.

Fold the nose back.

Fold another nose.

Fold the tip back to the base of the nose.

Flip over the paper horizontally. No folding is involved in this step.

Fold along the main crease.

Fold to form a wing. Make the fold at a slight angle.

Fold the other wing so that it lines up with the first wing.

Fold to form wing flaps. They should be parallel to the plane’s body. You may have to try this several times to make it right. The flaps should point downward, not upward as with the Sabertooth.

A camel hump is when a plane turns upward, stalls, goes into a nosedive, and rights itself. If, instead of going into a nosedive, the plane flips over, it has done a loop. To make the Squirrel perform a camel hump or loop, fold up the back edge of each wing, thereby creating “up elevator.” Be warned that too much up elevator slows down the plane. Then, throw the plane upward. A steeper throw is more likely to result in one of these stunts. Unfortunately, when the Squirrel stalls, it tends to tilt to one side, curve, and return to whomever threw it. To counteract this, fold the back ends of the wing flaps in the opposite direction of the curve. Once you are done tweaking, the Squirrel is finished.

The Sky King’s sole purpose is to stay airborne as long as possible. In 2009, Takuo Toda used this plane to set a world record of 27.9 seconds. Of course, an average person can expect only about 5 seconds.

Prepare a basic plane design by folding a nose.

Fold below the nose so that it centers on the remaining page.

Fold another nose. Then, unfold it to leave two guiding lines.

Fold the upper corners to the guiding lines. The front of the paper should remain horizontal.

Fold another nose.

Fold the tip back to the base of the nose. Then, unfold it to leave a guiding line.

Fold the tip back to the guiding line.

Flip over the paper horizontally. No folding is involved in this step.

Fold along the main crease up to the guiding line. Everything forward of the guiding line should become horizontal, resulting in a diamond shape on the nose of the plane.

Fold both sides of the nose back.

Fold halfway up the flat nose to form wings. Fold along the wings to form wing flaps. The size of the wing flaps is up to you.

Fold up the back edge of each wing to create “up elevator.” This drives the nose upward to prevent the plane from falling. Then, throw the Sky King straight into the air with as much speed as you can muster. The plane will flatten out and drift lazily back to the ground.

HAVE FUN!