Thursday, November 24, 2005

HOWTO make a prizewinning paper airplane


A group of UK students have created a king-hell paper airplane for a competition. The Times of London covers the story, along with the team's best tips for making your own prize-winning paper airplanes.
# The nose must be heavy to ensure stable flight. A paper clip on the nose should allow the plane to fly further

# If the plane tends to nose-dive because of the heavy nose, bend the back edge of the wings upwards slightly

# The centre of gravity should be towards the front to prevent the plane from stalling

# The wings should be angled upwards to give the plane a slight “Y” shape when viewed from the front

# Winglets added to the edge of the wings will reduce drag

# Check for symmetry by looking down the nose of the plane and refold it if necessary. It will not fly smoothly if it is not entirely symmetrical

# Be patient and make small adjustments rather than radical changes to the basic design

LInk (Thanks, Phil!)

Update: Philip sez, "Though the judges lauded the Avenger's design, it actually bombed at the competition. The winner was Spruce Moose



posted by Cory Doctorow at 01:01:19 AM permalink | Other blogs' comments

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