The hangar
Every plane in the app, 44 in all, each with a full diagrammed guide. They are grouped by how the nose is folded, because that is where the sequences really differ.
Pointed darts
Two pairs of diagonal folds stack the layers into a sharp nose. It is the sequence most people already half-know, which makes it the easiest place to learn symmetry, and the stunt setups start from this body too.
Needle noses
A third pair of edge folds narrows the dart further. The nose gets thick quickly, so these reward careful alignment more than force.
Folded-back points
The sharp tip is folded back on itself before the body closes. The result is a blunt, layered front made without cutting the point off.
Locked noses
A small triangle folds up over two corner flaps and holds them shut. The Nakamura lock is an old origami technique; the other three add tips or a tail fin to it.
Folded-down noses
The pointed roof folds down early and later folds cover or trap it. The front ends up compact and multi-layered.
Square noses
Two downward folds flatten the front into a blunt edge before a second set of corner folds. A good family for comparing wing variations on the same nose.
Rolled leading edges
Instead of a point, the top edge is rolled down two or three times into a stiff strip. The wings stay broad, and the rolled edge becomes the front of each wing.
Tucked noses
An inside reverse fold pushes the point back between the body layers, leaving a closed pocket at the front. The technique is fiddly the first time and very tidy once learned.
Half-sheet deltas
The top half of the sheet is folded down first, so everything after works on a doubled, shorter sheet. The outline is a compact delta.
Workshop
Materials, troubleshooting, choosing a design, fair tests and the physics underneath.
- Flight workshopWhy your paper airplane dives, stalls, or turnsName the flight pattern first, then make the one small change that matches it. A field guide to dives, stalls, turns and rolls.
- Before you foldChoosing paper for a paper airplanePrinter paper is the right place to start. When to switch, what gsm means, why Letter and A4 give different planes, and how to compare two papers fairly.
- Choose a designDart or glider: which paper airplane should you make?Pick a plane by what you want it to do and where you will throw it. How darts and gliders differ, with suggestions from all 44 designs.
- Try an experimentHow to run a fair paper airplane flight testA tape measure, a starting line and ten throws: how to find out whether a change really helped, with a printable log and a worked scoring example.
- Understand flightHow a paper airplane flies without an engineLift, drag, weight and balance in plain language, and how each one shows up in the flights you actually see.