FIRST YOU LEARN, NEXT YOU DESIGN, THEN YOU BUILD, AND EVENTUALLY YOU FLY!

I'm Ken Blackburn, and I hold the Guinness record for time aloft for paper airplanes. I first set the record in 1983 (16.89 seconds), resetting it in 1987 (17.2 sec), 1994 (18.8 sec) lost the record in 1996 I set the current record of 27.6 seconds on 10/8/98 in the Georgia Dome.

THE RECORD SETTING THROW

HOW TO SET A RECORD My plan was to construct from 5 to 10 planes a week, initially trying radical changes, progressively narrowing in on the best paper airplane design. I hurt my shoulder from throwing too rapidly. So I switched back and forth between workouts in the gym, and workouts throwing planes. I had the most luck with my original design that I had invented as a 13 year old kid.

HOW TO MAKE IT FLY BETTER First- its real important to keep the wing as flat as possible, so I would press the side of a pen against every fold as the plane is made in order to keep the folds as flat as possible. Second- I tried making the folds a little wider and narrower until I found just the right width – this determines exactly where the plane balances. Third- I "prefolded" the paper in a pattern to add crease marks on the wing.

HOW MANY PLANES TO MAKE? In reality every paper airplane flies differently. Out of 100 planes perhaps 50 fly over 16 seconds, 20 over 18 seconds, and 5 over 20 seconds. That is why I needed to make several hundred planes, not only to improve the design, but to find the best airplane using the best design.

HINTS! As many people know, the dimples on a golf ball reduce the drag of the golf ball, and these creases served the same function. Tupperware makes a great waterproof, crushproof, paper airplane hanger