Paper Airplane Design

Challenges

• Paper Airplane Challenges

  • Distance - Fold a paper airplane that will fly the farthest distance (measured in a straight line from starting point to where plane first touches ground)

  • Flight Time - Fold a paper airplane that will stay in flight for the longest time (measured in seconds)

  • Appearance - Make your plane look cool/fun/pretty/fast with pencil, crayons, or markers

  • DYO (Design Your Own) - come up with your own challenge

• Multimodal Documentation Challenge - Google Slides Template (Student Template Slide Show)

  • Document your paper airplane making, including iterations/FAILures, with words, numbers, photos (or drawings) and videos (optional)

• Iteration / FAILure Challenge

  • Embrace the messy, iterative learning process

• Optional Challenges

  • Power up your Planes with a Paper Airplane Launcher - or DYO (design your own) launcher

  • Bonus Builds (see links in Resources section below)

  • DYO (Design Your Own) - come up with your own challenge - DYO Challenge Google Form

Tools

Required

• Paper - 1 sheet copy paper, 8.5" x 11, 20 lb. - recycled paper is great

Optional after making airplanes with just paper

• Paper Clip - 1 standard paper clip, 1”

• Tape - up to 3 inches of standard adhesive tape

• Glue - just a small dab or two of glue

• Staples - up to 3 staples

Resources & How-To's

• Start Thinking/Dreaming – Watch/Read 1 or more Flight Resources below

  • Start Here - Flight | DIY Science Time

  • What Factors Affect the Flight of a Paper Airplane?

  • Paper Airplanes - Lift, Weight, Thrust, Drag & Design

  • How to make a paper plane, with science!

  • Darts vs Gliders — Paper Airplane Battle

  • How This Guy Folds and Flies World Record Paper Airplanes

  • Paper Airplane Flight Adjustment (up, down, left, right)

  • Optional – Bonus Resources

    • Dihedral Angle (keep plane flying level - self-correcting)

    • Center of Gravity (and Center of Lift and Up Elevator)

    • Sink Rate (and Gravity, Drag, & Lift)

    • Wing Loading (how walk behind planes work)

• Pick a plane design for the Distance Challenge

  • 4 Basic Paper Airplanes - Folding Directions

  • FoldN’Fly Paper Airplane Database

  • How to Make a Paper Airplane -
    Nakamura Lock

  • World Record Plane (harder?)

  • * Paper Airplanes YouTube Playlist *

• Optional Challenges

  • Power up your Planes with a Paper Airplane Launcher - or DYO (design your own) launcher

  • Bonus Build Challenges - 

    • Gyro Flyer 

    • Hoop Glider

    • F15 or any Fold’NFly hard or expert design

    • Stingray Paper Airplane

    • Boomerang, Boomerang 2, Bat Plane, Tumbling Wing, & World Record Plane (or even more detailed World Record Plane w/ A4)

  • DYO (Design Your Own) - come up with your own challenge - DYO Challenge Google Form

Teacher Activity Plan