Blog

Can you design your own style?

This paper plane flies quite a bit like a regular dart. But its striking looks make it much more fun. Plus, you get two pairs of wings – front and back – that you can modify!

You will need

• A4 paper

What to do

1. Rotate your paper so it’s tall, not wide.
2. Fold it in half down the middle, and then unfold.
3. Fold the top corners down, so the top left and right edges of the paper meet the crease down the middle.
4. Turn the plane over.
5. Without creasing the paper, bring one of the diagonal folds to the centre fold. Untuck the top layer of paper so it sticks out, and then flatten the crease.
6. Repeat on the other side. You should now have a diagonal square at the top of your paper.
7. Turn the paper over.
8. Fold the top down, so the square gets folded in half.
9. Fold the plane in half and then fold the wings down and out. In the plane we photographed, wing folds run about a centimetre from the centre line at the nose, to about four centimetres at the rear of the plane. Experiment with the wing size to see what flies best!

Did you know?

Some planes have small wings at the front, similar to this backwards triangle dart. These front wings are called canards. They can be seen in lots of fighter jets, including the Sukhoi Su-34 and SAAB Gripen. It’s tricky to design a plane with canards, because the front wings affect the air flowing over the main wings!

More paper planes!

• A classic design with a special lock
• A stunt plane ready to do loops!
• Tips and tricks to improve your designs

If you’re after more science activities for kids, subscribe to Double Helix magazine!