The Basic

The most basic design that almost everyone has tried.

The Basic

The most basic design that almost everyone has tried.

It's quick and easy to make, and it flies fairly well. This paper airplane is a little floppy, so it works better if you give it a gentle toss, not a hard throw. A good starter airplane for young kids.

Easy difficulty Letter & A4 Paper Time aloft Measurements

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Steps

Video Guide

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Paper Airplane Folding Instructions

1. Fold the paper in half.

2. Unfold and then fold the top two corners into the center line.

3. Again, fold the paper in half.

4. Finally, fold the edges down to meet the bottom of the body.

Final Paper Airplane Design

Use a little tape to keep the wings together. If it tends to fly sharply upwards, stall, and then drop straight down, try bending the back of the wings down just a little bit.

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Video Instructions

View Printed Instructions

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Printable Folding Instructions

These beautiful, easy to follow, paper airplane folding instructions can be downloaded and printed as many times as you want. Simply follow the printed instructions and fold along the indicated lines to make a perfect paper airplane, every time.

Sample Paper Airplane Printable Instructions

Sample Paper Airplane Printable Template

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Number of Folds	4
Distance Flown Average Distance Thrown by a 10yr old	8.8 ft / 2.6 m
Time Aloft Average Time Aloft Thrown by a 10yr old	4 sec

Convert to Imperial	Letter Paper
Length The distance from nose to tail	28 cm
Wingspan The longest distance from wingtip to wingtip	11 cm
Wing Chord The average length of the wing, from front to back	19.7 cm
Wing Area The area of all wing surfaces	216.5 cm²
Wing Loading The averaged weight carried by the wings	212.5 g/m²

The Wing Loading is how much of the paper airplane's weight is being lifted by each unit area of the wing's surface. In general, an airplane with a lower wing loading will glider better. A standard piece of 75gsm printer paper is used for all of these measurements across the website.

Of Interest

• Fold'N Fly Paper Airplane Book

• Motorized Propeller for Paper Airplanes

• Paper Airplane Launchers

• Foam Airplanes

• Balsa Wood Airplanes

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