Making and Testing Model Paper Airplanes

Guidelines CHOOSE A PARTNER AND A PLANE Always fold accurately and crisply Small errors in first folds will be amplified in construction Look carefully at the design to determine where the fold should start, stop, and the angle of the fold Look at the current step and the next step to see what the plane should look like prior to and after folding

Avoids RATS!! RAT folding (Right About There) will result in poor and unrepeatable results Each fold has a specific reference point shown in the design – find and follow these points!!

Tuning the Plane Most planes will not fly straight (both vertically and horizontally) immediately after construction – it must be tuned Yaw (left/right turning) can be corrected by making a small bend in the fuselage of the plane at the aft (back) end like a rudder. Bend in the direction you want the plane to turn Pitch (up/down turning) can be corrected by making small bends in the aft of the wings. Bend in the direction you want the plane to turn.

Dihedral Angle This is the angle of the wings above or below horizontal. Wings will typically perform better with a positive dihedral angle (above horizontal) Wing angles must be equal to get best performance

Center of Gravity (COG) The center of gravity is where the plane balances The center of gravity can play a big role in airplane performance

Finding COG Flip your plane upside-down Attach a paperclip and string to the plane Suspend the plane on the string – if it balances fore and aft, you have found the COG Keep moving the paperclip until you have found the COG Measure the COG from the nose of the plane

Special Folds Squash Fold Sink Fold Waterbomb Base Reverse Fold Petal Fold