Plain Paper Pilots

November 10, 2020 11:34 AM

How to build the world's best paper airplane. (SLYT) John Collins, also known as 'The Paper Airplane Guy,' teaches us how to fold and fly our very own version of his "world record" paper airplane. John attempts to make the greatest paper airplane on the planet, and takes us along for the ride.

More Collins:
John Collins, origami enthusiast and paper airplane savant, walks us through all the science behind five spectacular paper airplanes. Most people know how to fold a simple plane, but paper airplanes can take as much from science as the newest car designs.

posted by storybored (14 comments total)

If you can use tape, can I use carbon fibre and a jet engine?
posted by StephenB at 1:01 PM on November 10, 2020 [4 favorites]

Why the super-tiny pieces of tape? I watched the whole video and am considering making one of these on my own. But my shaky hands (essential tremor runs in my family) might not be able to do such minuscule tape-handling.

Is the minimalist use of tape part of the official rules for a paper airplane contest? I might have missed that in the video as I skipped a few seconds here and there.
posted by SoberHighland at 1:46 PM on November 10, 2020

SoberHighland - According to this article:
"Fellow paper plane professional Andy Chipling was also there, the mastermind behind the original Guinness Record rules which regulate the amount of tape allowed (25 millimeters by 30 millimeters) and prohibit the use of “darts,” which are glorified balls of paper thrown at high velocities."
posted by Baby_Balrog at 2:00 PM on November 10, 2020 [1 favorite]

also i can't believe i watched this entire video
posted by Baby_Balrog at 2:00 PM on November 10, 2020 [1 favorite]

Damn, It took me more than a half of an hour to come back and read the whole article by watching and napping through the entire video.
posted by CRESTA at 2:50 PM on November 10, 2020 [1 favorite]

I thought you were exaggerating but holy shit that video knocked me out as well. It definitely hits that soporific spot. I do want to try making that plane with the kids now, though.

all I wanna do's
*FOLD FOLD FOLD FOLD*
and *TOSS*
and wait half a day
posted by phooky at 4:48 PM on November 10, 2020

This reminded me of those White Wings paper airplane kits. Out of print, apparently. I have a box here somewhere with 10 or so unmade ones. Hmm.
posted by notyou at 5:57 PM on November 10, 2020 [2 favorites]

At a certain young age, I was allowed to roam "the stacks" at the public library. Adult books in there. Serious books. Biographies, history, science, sports... I found "the Great International Paper Airplane Book" and checked it out. My brothers, best friend and I probably burned through a ream of paper over the following couple of weeks, copying examples from the book and experimenting with our own designs. When the book of the second great international paper airplane contest was published, I bought my self a copy. I have made perhaps 20 of the Whitewings paper airplanes, and they are very cool in their own way, but I do find something appealing about the single sheet folded paper airplane. I have a go-to design (not my invention) that is quick to fold, requires no tape for structural reasons or paperclip for correct weight distribution. There are several paper airplane designs that are claimed to be "the best". But what do you want to do with your paper airplane? Horses for courses. The design that is good for loops and stunts is not great for distance and the distance plane is not the one you want for time aloft. Mr. Collins has a very nice paper airplane design there, and obviously has spent time to refine it. I'll probably give it a go.
posted by coppertop at 6:45 PM on November 10, 2020 [7 favorites]

Oh wow, I grew up with a copy of the Great International Paper Airplane Book in my house! Apparently at one point my dad also won a contest where contestants had to throw a paper airplane into a plane's open cockpit from a distance, and from what little I remember of this story (it happened when I was very young) he apparently chose to take the second-place prize instead of the grand prize.

Good story
posted by DoctorFedora at 6:52 PM on November 10, 2020 [4 favorites]

When I was young, my parents bought a copy of a book about making aeroplanes from McDonald's styrofoam take-away containers.

By the time I received the book, McDonald's had just moved over to cardboard containers.
posted by rum-soaked space hobo at 2:39 AM on November 11, 2020 [2 favorites]

I'm really surprised he doesn't talk about the paper. Is 75 gsm the best? Is 90 better?
Do we care about brightness? Recycled vs virgin? Pulp vs rag? (I've got a little 300# cold press sitting around)

And if A4 is hard to come by, why not cut down legal-size paper instead of making a smaller plane?
posted by MtDewd at 9:36 AM on November 11, 2020

Oh I found this guy through reddit, tangentially through the origami subreddit which took me to the paper airplane subreddit. Its a decent cheap hobby, especially if you have kids that are going to destroy everything you make anyway. I keep forgetting to recommend "paper airplanes" on all the need hobby ask mes, but it really is a nice, low stakes easy to enter hobby and can be enjoyed indoors or out and kids like to play with the outcome and it doesn't matter much of the plane only lasts a day or so in their hands.
posted by WeekendJen at 1:10 AM on November 12, 2020

If you are in the US, and there is a Japanese stationer near you, check to see if they carry ISO216 paper sizes.
posted by rum-soaked space hobo at 4:42 AM on November 12, 2020

In a pinned comment, Wired promises an "in-depth" video about this airplane and I can't help but thinking, "The 40-minute version isn't in-depth?"

If I don't care about the Guinness regulations or going after a world record, is there a summation someplace that explains the folds quickly? Or maybe a version made from letter sized paper because cutting the paper to size definitely isn't something I would actually do when trying to fold a plane for fun? I looked on his website but didn't find the simple text-and-photo-illustration version I was looking for.
posted by ob1quixote at 12:45 PM on November 12, 2020