Cool Paper Airplanes
Learn how to make a cool paper airplane. Check out these 6 awesome, eye-catching designs that will impress your friends.
We have collected the 6 coolest paper airplanes here in one place for you to enjoy. Coolness can be a little subjective, so we have picked a variety of designs based on different criteria.
People have been folding paper airplanes for hundreds of years - even before the word "airplane" was invented, if you can believe it! Being able to take a simple piece of paper and turn it into an aircraft that can fly across the room is in itself am amazing engineering accomplishment. We think this is pretty cool as it is. But, if you are looking for something even cooler, look no further than the designs highlighted on this page.
What is Cool?
There are different things that can make an awesome paper airplane. It really depends on what "cool" means to you! You probably want to stay away from generic designs like the Basic Dart. Cool general means that it is different from the status-quo. You may want a design that differentiates itself from the stereotypical paper airplane. Here are some different ways that a paper plan might stand out from the crowd.
StyleAre you looking for a paper plane that has an amazing or creative style? Maybe you want it to look like a fighter jet, or a sci-fi space ship, or a bird. Maybe your friend made a cool looking fighter jet and you want to make something similar. We have several creative designs highlighted below, but you might also want to experiment at make your own paper airplane with our own cool style. It's not as hard as you think!
Unique DesignMaybe you want it to have an innovative design that stands out from the crowd by not looking like a paper airplane at all. A boomerang or ring shaped paper airplane may be what you are looking for.
Or you may want to branch out and make a paper airplane, not by folding, but by cutting out and gluing pieces together to make a realistic looking aircraft. To learn more about this style, often called the Whitewings Style, check our our advanced Amelia Earhart Vega 5B model.
You should also consider using unconventional building materials. Make your airplane out of foam board or aluminum foil. Use a giant piece of paper, or two pieces of paper! Use your imagination and think outside the box!
PerformanceMaybe "cool" means that the paper airplane can do stunning tricks or have impressive performance. A crazy fast paper airplane that flies really far is pretty cool! Have you thought about using a catapult to launch your paper airplane super far? A sleek paper dart launched with a rubber band can travel an impressive distance. Or maybe you want your paper aircraft to do flips and spins in mid air, you can do that too by picking the right design and then learning how to adjust the airplane to spin, loop and curve. On the other hand, a neat paper airplane might be one that floats slowly around the room and stays up for a long time. We have those too! If you practice and hone your skills, maybe someday you can set a paper airplane world record. That would be pretty awesome!
DecorationWhite paper can get a little boring. Maybe you need to spice it up by using different colors. Or give your paper airplane some artistic flair by decorating your aircraft with different colors, patterns and designs. Use your creativity to personalize your paper airplane in a way that speaks to you. In our opinion, the coolest paper airplane is a one-of-a-kind creation that cannot be easily reproduced because you have personalized it in some way.
Another cool thing to do with a paper airplane is to play some games. Try to knock over a target, or try to fly your paper airplane through a narrow opening. Have a contest to see who can throw their airplane the furthest. Or check out some paper airplane games that you can play. Challenge yourself to come up with a new cool activity for you and your friends.
Mad Skills
One of the coolest things you can do with a paper airplane is to challenge yourself to improve your skills. Can you throw your paper airplane 15 meters? 25 meters? 50 meters!? If challenging yourself to achieve certain levels of accomplishment sounds interesting, you may be interested in the Original Paper Airplane League. This is a free online club where members complete a series of tests related to paper airplane construction and flight performance.
Without further ado, here are our top 6 picks for the coolest paper airplanes.
UFO
This design looks cool, especially if you use paper with a different color on each side. It is also one of our top performers for time-aloft. It will gently float around the room for a long time.
Boomerang
What's cooler than throwing something and having it circle around and come back to you? Not much. While it's not technically an "airplane", give this paper boomerang a try. If you like boomerangs check out our paper boomerang article with more designs, tips and tricks.
Navy Plane
Fast is cool and this paper plane is styled to look like a real military fighter jet. Throw it hard and it can rocket ahead at top speed.
Space Fighter
This cool paper airplane design has a sci-fi style that makes it look like a spaceship. All you need are some laser cannons. Pew pew.
Flying Wing
Most paper airplanes have a body or fuselage - a vertical piece that you can grip to throw. This flying wing doesn't, it's all wing! You throw it by pinching it on the top and bottom and then pushing it forward. It has a nice, slow, gentle glide, so be sure to check this one out. It looks pretty cool.
The Bird
This is one of our favorite designs because it flies super far, and it's also very reliable. It is one of our best performing paper airplanes for distance, and we think that is pretty cool.
Throw this paper airplane at a 45° angle, as hard as you can without causing the paper to flutter with the force. If the airplane doesn't fly straight, make small bends to the back of the wings. You can learn how to make these bends on our "How to Steer a Paper Airplane" page.
What's Next?
If none of these designs strikes your fancy, we have more than 50 other options to choose from. Just click over to our homepage and scroll through the images until something catches your eye.
Paper airplanes are a very popular hobby that give people a thrill every time they launch their creation into the air. Building paper planes is a great way to learn about engineering concepts and it can be a fun creative outlet as well. Personalizing your planes and incorporating games and challenges can turn a simple flying session into an exciting competition or collaborative project. We hope that you have found something cool on this page that you can share with a friend.
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