"What's the best paper airplane?" has no single answer, because planes are good at different things. A plane that crosses a gym is a poor choice for a living room, and a gentle glider won't cope with a hard overarm throw. Decide what you want first; the design follows.
Start with the job
| You want | Try first | What to watch |
|---|---|---|
| A first plane that teaches symmetry | The Dart or The Starter | Matching wing creases, a centred nose |
| A slow, controlled glide indoors | Nakamura Lock | A gentle, level release; the lock staying closed |
| Broad wings to experiment with trim | The Condor or The Manta | How much the back edges affect the path |
| Loops, curves and spirals | Loop-de-Loop or The Boomerang | Matching (or deliberately unequal) back-edge bends |
| A fold challenge | The Pebble or The Kingfisher | Inside reverse folds that stay tidy |
These suggestions follow the goals the app assigns each design. They describe what a plane is meant for, not a measured ranking.
What makes a dart a dart
Look at the outlines above. The Dart is long and narrow: most of the paper is folded into a pointed nose and a deep body, leaving slim, swept wings. That shape suits speed. It wants a firm, level throw and usually travels in a fairly straight line, but it gives up quickly once it slows.
Darts are forgiving to fold and easy to check, because every crease has a partner on the other side. They're less forgiving to throw: a wrist flick twists them, and a nose-down release sends them into the floor. Hold the body a third of the way back, and push rather than snap.
What makes a glider a glider
The Nakamura Lock and Condor spread more of the sheet into wide wings, and put their folded layers into a blunt or rolled front edge. More wing for the same weight means they can fly slower. They reward a gentle release, nose just above level, and they punish a hard throw with a climb and stall.
Broad wings also show trim changes clearly, which makes gliders good planes for learning adjustment. The cost is stiffness: a big wing can flex or open during the throw, so creases need to be sharp and the body held gently.
Room to fly
A hallway suits a dart thrown along its length. A living room suits a slow glider launched gently from one end. Loops need height: the Loop-de-Loop wants a high ceiling or open air. Turning planes like the Orbit need width. Whatever you choose, aim away from people, faces and anything fragile.
Distance or hang time?
These are different scores. Distance is how far along the floor the plane lands. Hang time is how long it stays up. A dart might win one and a glider the other, and launching from a stair or balcony changes both. Choose your score before comparing designs, measure the same way each time, and keep every result, including the bad ones.
Try two and compare
Fold a Dart and a Nakamura Lock from matching sheets. Throw each the way it likes (firm and level for the Dart, gentle for the Nakamura) five times each. You'll feel the difference in the throw as much as see it in the flight. To use the app's filters for picking a next plane, open Pick and choose distance, hang time, easy folds, toughness or tricks.
Keep going
- 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.
- 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.
Something unclear or wrong? Send a correction. How we write and check guides.