How to Make the Best Paper Airplane

You've wanted to know since you were a kid.

Maker: Barnaby Wainfan, technical fellow and aerodynamicist, Northrop Grumman

Leif Parsons

Use this template. Start by folding the paper in half down the center of the plane. Cut along the perimeter to get a perfectly symmetrical aircraft.

Now fold: First, the wings, down along line No. 1. Then grab the tail in the center and fold it in the opposite direction along the same line, so it extends above the wings. Next fold down along line No. 2. At the seam where the wings meet use a piece of Scotch tape to hold them together. Add a standard paper clip beside the nose to balance the weight of the thinner nose with the plane's wide wings. Last, fold the flaps up along line No. 3.

After a test flight, troubleshoot by adjusting those folds. If the plane nosedives, bend the rear flaps to make them more vertical. If it swoops up and then dives straight down, flatten them.

This originally appeared in the September 2017 issue.

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