On February 26, 2012 at California's McClellan Air Force Base, TV producer John Collins smashed the record for the longest paper-plane flight with Suzanne. Here's how to build a rival to his 69.14-metre record.
The key is the dihedral angle, where the wings leave the plane's body. "Tilted-up wings increase stability," Collins explains,"but add drag." You want no dihedral at launch, when speed reduces the need for stability, and an upwards angle as the plane loses speed. As the plane slows, the air adheres further back along the wings. "I put a flat dihedral at the nose, then raked it up further back," Collins says. "The plane has no dihedral at first, but this increases as it reduces speed." Guinness World Record rules allow one 25mm x 30mm piece of Sellotape. Cut it into pieces and use sparingly.
"Take the top-right corner of the page and fold the top edge to the left side. Unfold and repeat for the left corner for an X crease," Collins says. These will be the wings' leading edges. "Use a credit card to make the creases sharp." Take the top right corner of the page and fold down to line the side up with the diagonal crease. Repeat on the left. "Leave 1.5mm between the edge of the page and the crease."
To make the wings, start a crease close to the nose. "Don't line up the front of the wing with the bottom of the fuselage," Collins says. "Pull it down so that the raw edge towards the back of the wing - not the wing itself - touches the corner at the back of the fuselage. That gives more wing and less fuselage." You should see an increased dihedral angle towards the rear - emphasise this while keeping it flat at the front.
Fold the pointed top of the page straight down from the point where the original diagonals cross. "The crease lines across the top of the folded-down layer should line up with the folded-in edges of the paper beneath," Collins says. Fold in the top sides of the paper along these edge and crease lines - the two flaps should meet exactly in the middle. Fold the whole plane in half down this central line.
Success is more about technique than force, says Collins. "Start off gentle and keep adding velocity until you get the speed you want." Adjust the plane after each flight, to fine-tune performance. "If your plane is turning left, bend the back of the plane to the right and vice versa. To get it to go up more, bend up the back of the plane. You'd be amazed how much difference a tiny adjustment makes."
This article was originally published in 2015.
This article was originally published by WIRED UK
