Many people have trouble creating good paper airplanes. We're here to help. These are a few tips for making world-class paper airplanes by Alec T. and Rohan G.
1. Gather materials. Materials you need (some are just suggested) include paper (preferably recycled), a stapler (for holding the plane together), and scissors (for more complex tweaks).
2. Make it symmetrical. An uneven plane will usually tilt to one side and dive to the ground.
3. Balance the weight. When you fold a plane, each fold makes the plane heavier. A moderate amount of weight is good for the plane's flight. For example, take a baseball. Go outdoors and hurl it as hard as you can. Then chuck a paper cube as hard as you can. Which went further? The baseball, right? This is because of the weight. When you are making a plane, try to put a majority of the plane's weight near the front for a stunt plane, or balance it for a glider/dart/
4. Use one sheet. Two-sheet airplanes are popular because of their looks, but they don't usually fly well. One-sheet planes can't fall apart and usually can have more weight towards the front or center.
5. Test it. Before showing off your model (or tweaking it) , test the plane outdoors.
6. Tweak it for enhancement. Is your plane bad? Is it good? Want to make it better? Well you can tweak your plane to enhance it, but the tweaking might degrade it. For example, you can add flaps to your plane, give it a rudder (like flaps in the back), etc. However, if you tweak your plane, you are taking a chance. Make one or two more of your planes before tweaking one of them, so if the plane you're tweaking turns out to be a disaster, you will have backups.
7. Hold it together. Once your paper airplane is done, you might notice that the front or back is falling apart a little. You can easily fix this with tape or a staple. If your plane is really good, you might want to use a staple to insure that your plane is held together. Putting a staple near the front adds weight. If you have to staple in a bulky part of a plane, it is suggested that your use an effective stapler.
