Zac Klenske

Flight is a wonderful and intriguing thing, but until the Wright brothers came along, no one really knew too much about how it worked. Now, flight is familiar to almost everyone, but sight of something soaring through the air is still thrilling. Because planes are expensive and quite dangerous in the hands of everyone who isn’t a pilot, we have to content ourselves with flight simulators and paper airplanes. Paper airplanes are cheap, simple, fun, and easy to make, which makes them far better than flight simulators. With thousands of models to make, there is no end to the fun you can have. This booklet will lead you through the process of making one of these models, the Nakamura Lock. Although the name might sound intimidating, the Nakamura Lock is one of the easiest paper airplanes to make. A blunted nose prevents the point from being bent too easily and wide wings provide a stable flight. This particular plane was invented by the Japanese. It is named after its inventor Eiji Nakamura, a famous origami artist. 3

History Lesson Although, no one knows exactly when paper airplanes first took flight, the Chinese are given credit for conquering paper flight first. They were the first to invent paper and were avid kite enthusiests, which are made of similar materials. Also, if you were to add a couple of supports and tie some string, a paper airplane would make a decent kite. Many also atribute the invention to the Japanese because of its similarities to origami. 3 However the invention of paper airplanes came about, by the beginning of the Second World War, paper models were popular enough in the United States to be sold on the back of cereal boxes. 1 What You Will Need When building this plane (and most other planes), use standard 8.5” x 11” sheet size. One of the greatest parts about building paper airplanes is that you can use whatever type of paper you have available. Lighter paper will allow for easier folds, but heavier will make the plane more stable when flying. You will also need a flat, hard surface to make folds on.

Step 1 Fold the paper in half using the Center Line. Unfold the paper. Then, fold the top two corners to the line running down the center to make the diagonal creases. This will match up the three yellow lines. Throughout the entire process, it is important to keep the plane symmetrical. This can be done by making folds as accurate as possible. After Center Line Use your fingernail or the egde of a heavy book to make creases sharp and crisp.

Step 2 Fold the blue crease as shown by pulling the top point down. Line up the tip of the triangle with the vertical center line made in Step 1

Step 3 Form a small trianglular tab by folding just the tip of the larger triangle up. The tab should be no bigger than the width of your finger (as shown in the picture). Unfold the tab. This fold will hold the plane together at the end of the process.

Step 4 Take the top-left and top-right corners and make the creases shown by the blue lines. These creases are not aligned with the center line. When the folds are done, all the corners (yellow dots) should be roughly in the same place. The dotted lines forming a cross show the creases made from the vertical center line and the triangular tab from the previous step. The top corners can be slightly above the dotted intersection to avoid wrinkling the paper. top-lefttop-right center line

Step 5 Push the two corners down and fold the triangular tab over them; it should hold down the two upper folds made in the previous step. If you mess up a fold, it is usually easier to start over than trying to repair or recrease a fold. This airplane doesn’t take that long to make, so it won’t set you back that far.

Step 6 Using the vertical center line from the first step, fold it in half, using the blue line as a guide. The tab should be on the outside. Keep the tab folded over the two corners from the previous step) while doing this. After

Step 7 This view is rotated from the last view. Fold down one of the flaps at the blue crease, placing the yellow lines on top of each other. Do the same for the other side. It is important in this step to make the wings of both sides the same.

Step 8 Unfold the wings and take a step back. You are now done folding the Nakamura Lock. Hopefully, it looks like the image to the left. Now all that is left is to find a suitable flight plan... It should be fairly obvious what to do next, but if you are having issues, look at the picture to the left. Don’t throw the plane too hard, the Nakamura Lock flies best under a smooth and light toss. front grab here Watch out for paper missiles!

If you already have it figured out, then it’s time to choose a target. Acceptable Targets: trash cans, posters, the wild blue yonder, outer space (if you can throw that far), etc. Unacceptable Targets: small woodland animals, children, your roommate’s eye (the front end may be blunt, but so are bullets) If your plane is having problems with keeping a steady course, then turn to the next page. Wild Blue Yonder

The Adjustments Unfortunately, paper airplanes are made of... paper. Even the slightest breeze can send them off course. More importantly, any error made during the production of your plane can have dire consequences for the hypothetical pilot of your aircraft. It’s almost impossible to make a perfect paper airplane, but there is hope. By making slight adjustments, you can make your imperfect plane fly straight and true or perform death-defying (or inviting) spins. All adjustments can be made (at least for this plane) from the back end of the plane by bending or curling (not creasing) the tips at the back up or down Both tips up = plane goes up Both tips down = plane goes down Opposite directions = plane spins or “corkscrews” If your plane is turning to the right too much, curl the left tip up or the right tip down. Do the opposite for turning too much to the left.

Works Cited 1. Bob. (2008). Paper Airplane History. Retrieved March 5, 2009, from Paper Airplane Web site: 2. Collins, J. Fantastic flight. California: Ten Speed Press, Gray, S. (2008). Paper Airplane History. Retrieved March 9, 2009 from Easy Paper Airplanes Web site: airplanes.com/paper-airplane-history.htm