One sheet or more? Decide on the design. Most simple paper airplanes are made by the Origami art rules. This means you can use only one sheet of paper and fold. There are some complex aircraft done this way, but usually the advanced models are created by joining different pieces of paper!

High tech and low tech: Use an iPad app to learn how to make origami is a fun craft activity that most kids will enjoy doing. Easily accessed apps should give you excellent step by step instructions with videos of all the steps to make simple animals to complex paper folded cranes. There is no reason to check out the paid apps, if you are just looking for something to keep the children busy as there is countless ideas in the free apps alone, including some fun paper airplanes and ideas for folding a dollar bill. Have fun with these Origami learning apps and teach yourself this skill.

Take that ancient Japanese tradition…

Radar proof: Edmond Hui invented a Stealth Bomber-like paper plane called the Paperang in 1977, based on hang glider aerodynamics. Uniquely, it has properly controlled airfoil sections, high-aspect-ratio wings, and a construction method designed to allow the builder to vary every aspect of its shape. It was the subject of a book, “Amazing Paper Planes: Turn an 8 1/2″ x 11″ Sheet of Paper into a Finely Trimmed Glider that Flies Farther, Faster, and Straighter than You Ever Believed Possible” in 1987, and a number of newspaper articles, too. It is ineligible for most paper plane competitions due to the use of a staple, but it has extremely high gliding performance exceeding glide ratios of 12 to 1 with good stability.

Having fun on a mildly windy day: Paper airplane day celebrations typically include social gatherings at which participants create and fly paper airplanes. These events often feature contests in two basic flight categories: “distance” and “time in air”. As of 2012, Takuo Toda holds the world record for the longest time in air (27.9 seconds). The distance record (226 feet, 10 inches) was set by Joe Ayoob, with a plane constructed by John Collins, in February 2012.

Heavy booty: Balance around the center. The paper airplanes are less stable than the other flying models (made of plastic or wood). That’s why you need to place special attention to the symmetry. One extra hint – as the tail is the most important piece, it needs to be robust and heavier. So, if needed, add a pin or a little nail in it and you’ll make the entire airplane much more stable.

All from a piece of paper: The gigantic airplanes of today take their inspiration from simple paper airplanes of the past. Paper airplanes became the dominant man-made object heavier than air for a thousand years. They were so popular that the greatest minds of history, like Da Vinci, explored the characteristics of paper airplanes and conjured a building model of a real life plane. A very important application of paper planes was made by the Wright Brothers. They built many paper plane models and tested them in their wind tunnel. Through this, the Wright Brothers discovered the technique for flying real airplanes.