Blog

Pink paper plane.

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. A pink piece of paper.Rotate your paper so it’s tall, not wide.
  2. A pink piece of paper with a fold down the middle.Fold it in half down the middle, and then unfold.
  3. A folded piece of paper.Fold the top corners down, so the top left and right edges of the paper meet the crease down the middle.
  4. A folded piece of paper.Turn the plane over.
  5. A folded piece of paper.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. A folded piece of paper.Repeat on the other side. You should now have a diagonal square at the top of your paper.
  7. A folded piece of paper.Turn the paper over.
  8. A folded piece of paper.Fold the top down, so the square gets folded in half.
  9. The folded plane.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!

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

Subscribe now! button

One response

  1. Da boi Avatar
    Da boi

    Good plane, fun to fly 👍

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

By submitting this form, you give CSIRO permission to publish your comments on our websites. Please make sure the comments are your own. For more information please see our terms and conditions.

Why choose the Double Helix magazine for your students?

Perfect for ages 8 – 14

Developed by experienced editors

Engaging and motivating

*84% of readers are more interested in science

Engaging students voice