August 23, 2002

12:44 PM

Bored at the office? Put some of that paper to good use: make some paper airplanes. Those two links should keep you busy for a few days (be sure to try out Nick's Plane. Possibly the best paper plane there is. Thank you Nick, who ever you are..), but if you're looking for something a little flash, you could try folding one of these.
posted by slipperywhenwet (18 comments total)

another great use of paper.... right on the digital screen!
posted by Kafei at 12:55 PM on August 23, 2002

Thank you Nick, who ever you are..

Thank you indeed. That plane flies great.
posted by mrgavins at 1:02 PM on August 23, 2002

Thanks, slippery! All my paper is tied up though in making a sky lantern, to increase the number of UFO sightings in my neighborhood.
posted by vacapinta at 1:02 PM on August 23, 2002

My son and I made paper airplanes at the Toledo Children's museum this summer. These are some great sites to keep us interested. Thanks
posted by ziklagz at 1:11 PM on August 23, 2002

I'd be interested to see the difference in performance in planes made with a sheet of US Letter paper (8.5" x 11") vs. a sheet of ISO A4 paper (210mm x 297mm).

It looks like the planes on paperairplanes.co.uk are made with A4 in mind (at least from the aspect ratio of the paper) and those on josephpalmer.com made with Letter in mind.
posted by zsazsa at 1:42 PM on August 23, 2002

(On an aside, does anyone know where I can get A4-sized paper in the US? Would I be able to go down to an office supply store or stationary shop and find a ream?)
posted by zsazsa at 1:44 PM on August 23, 2002

I made a whole fleet of paper airplanes one day when none of my tutees showed up for tutoring back in college.

Had an F4U Corsair, P-51 Mustang, SR-71 Blackbird, P-38 Lightning, and the Supermarine Spitfire.

Yes, I like WWII planes.
posted by linux at 1:52 PM on August 23, 2002

I had a lovely time on the way home from the office today playing with Nick's plane. Thanks, slippy. Too bad the breeze was against me and a 10-minute walk took over half an hour. Or maybe not - possibly the most fun I've had all summer.
posted by gleuschk at 4:07 PM on August 23, 2002

Paper airplanes are neat, sure. But why always airplanes? Where are the paper trains, paper boats, paper cars, paper houses, paper furniture, paper shoes, paper food?

Well... never mind. I didn't mean to cut in.
posted by jellybuzz at 4:44 PM on August 23, 2002

Two years ago, after finishing the final exam of a particularly heinous course (which wasn't even a requirement! I took it because I thought it would be fun. Stupid, stupid stupid..!) I had the brain storm of tearing up the course book, folding the pages into planes and launching them into the university's three story rotunda with friends. Good fun. This has actually become an annual event..
posted by slipperywhenwet at 5:27 PM on August 23, 2002

I'm surprised the "bishop's mitre" glider isn't in there. Easy to make, ugly, but it practically defies gravity. I learned about 'em 20 years ago from a NASA guy visiting our school... I don't remember the details though :/
posted by Foosnark at 5:39 PM on August 23, 2002

Mitre link. I can't wait to try this sucker out at my auditorium.
posted by yangwar at 6:47 PM on August 23, 2002

In the late 1960s, at an auto show at Memorial Coliseum in Portland, Oregon, I witnessed a wonderful flight of fancy.

From the top row of the 11,000 seat indoor stadium a young man launched a small square glider fashioned from some of the new car literature. The plane glided above the seats slowly, staying a constant height above the scattered folk taking a break in the stands. It flared out as it picked up speed and headed for the center of the arena where numerous new cars were parked. By this time the glider's progress was being tracked by a couple hundred people.

The glide path flattened, then the craft descended and the paper square landed on the roof of a car, slid and dropped into the open sunroof. Brilliant!

The witnesses cheered and the pilot took bows. The rest of the car show folk could only wonder why.
posted by wiinga at 6:53 PM on August 23, 2002

My personal design is based on something similar to Nick's favourite, I have the wings folded a few more times. I'll try and draw up an illustration of it tomorrow. it's a good glider, not very fast, but it flies far. I hold the unofficial high school record thanks to that one.

I have always wondered if anyone has come up with something similar to mine, and well no one has.
posted by riffola at 7:01 PM on August 23, 2002

Mitre link.

I'm sorry, but this.. doesn't make any sense. Would it have killed them to include a picture?
posted by slipperywhenwet at 9:37 PM on August 23, 2002

This Japanese gentleman has developed quite good replicas of jet fighters: F-16, F-15, JFS, Harrier, MIG 29, etc... They're made of thick paper and fly really far and high with a simple rubber band catapult. It's a lot of cutting, folding and gluing, but hell - they fly! Warning: addictive - my son can't get enough.


posted by ugly_n_sticky at 1:13 AM on August 24, 2002

I'm sorry, but this.. doesn't make any sense. Would it have killed them to include a picture?

does this (scroll down) make more sense?

by the way, the Stealth is worth every fold.
posted by hob at 11:54 PM on August 24, 2002

It seems that these paper planes can bu used for evil tricks. I couldn't help but laugh...
posted by mrgavins at 1:23 PM on August 26, 2002