The Hybrid: Quite Possibly the Best Paper Airplane Ever

by EtCetera112 in Living > Office Supply Hacks

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The Hybrid: Quite Possibly the Best Paper Airplane Ever

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Hello Instructablers!
Today I will be showing you how to make what is quite possibly the best paper airplane ever.
It is extremely versatile and easy to fold. What do I mean by versatile? I mean that it can be a glider, stunt, or dart, all by changing the throwing methods and almost nothing else*. So, without further ado I present The Hybrid


WARNING: This is an Instructable on how to make something that flies! Be afraid! Be very very afraid! No not really, just careful. And remember, I am not responsible for any injuries or very angry hamsters. 

Stuff You'll Need

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To make The Hybrid you will need:
- A sheet of paper (8.5 x 11)
- Some tape or preferably a paperclip (not shown)
- A pencil
- A ruler (not shown)
- At least one hand (works better with two)

When you have procured all of the listed items (Sort of hard for the hand if you don't have one already) please proceed to the next step.

The Beginning Folds

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This part is simple. Fold the paper in half across the narrow side, (hot dog) crease, then unfold. Flip the paper over and fold along the crease in the opposite direction. Leave it like that and proceed to the next step.

The Nose

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Fold up the corners of the paper to the edge of the paper (if you are confused, look at the picture) crease, and then flip over and do the same thing on the other side. When you are done with that, fold the corner in to the crease (As before, look at the picture) and flip it over and repeat on the other side. Next, fold the new corner in along the crease (Picture!) and unfold along center crease. Proceed to the next step. 

The Nose, Continued

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I have put all instructions as notations on the pictures, and I am feeling too lazy to type them out here, so look at the pictures and all will be made clear, then go to the next step.

The Wings

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Ok, I'm not going to bother doing the text part any more, so follow the pictures, and when you're done, proceed to the next step,
et cetera, et cetera.

The Dihedral

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Make a dihedral angle with the wings so it looks like the picture, and make sure the plane is symmetrical. 

Done!

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There are three main ways to fly:
Dart: Keep the paperclip and throw it hard at any angle between 0 and 45 degrees.
Glider: Get rid of the paperclip and throw it softly at any angle between 0 and 45 degrees.
Stunt: I haven't experimented much with this since I don't use stunt planes much, but as far as I have seen, just throw it any way that's not the way to throw it as a dart or a glider.

Have fun and be sure to like & comment!
-EtCetera112