Because it is the easiest type of origami to master, it is deeply loved by beginners and even experts. The simplest paper airplane folding method can be completed in only 6 steps. Now, the word "paper plane" also includes those planes made of cardboard.
phylogeny
Making toys out of paper is thought to have originated in China 2000 years ago, when kites were a popular entertainment. Although all these can be regarded as evidence of modern paper airplanes, no one can reliably provide accurate evidence to point out where the invention originated; With the passage of time, the speed, buoyancy and shape design of paper airplanes have been greatly improved.
In the west, the earliest paper plane can be traced back to the 1980s and was made in 1909. However, the most accepted production method was put forward by John K. Northrop (one of the founders of Lockheed) in 1930. Northrop Corporation made a simulation test with paper airplanes to discover the flight mechanism of real airplanes.
Types of paper airplanes
● Traditional types
This paper plane needs six steps to make; If step 1 is omitted, only five steps can be used for actual operation. You can use a rectangular piece of paper, such as A3, A4 or Letter (A4 or Letter is recommended) to make this paper plane.
1. First, put the paper vertically, fold it in half, and make a crease in the middle of the paper.
2. Open the crease and fold the upper left corner and the upper right corner to the middle crease.
3. Fold left and right according to the previous middle crease. Next, the most important step is to fold the wings.
4. The paper is still placed vertically, and the paper on both sides of the blunt end (below) is folded outward instead of inward. A traditional paper plane is completed.
●DC-03 type
Many people claim that they have made "the best paper plane in the world". DC-03 model is one of them (DC-03 paper airplane model). DC-03 has a huge glider and a tail that may be unique among all paper planes. Unfortunately, there is no international paper airplane alliance or association to formally determine whether this is the best airplane in the world.
aerodynamics
Although the DC-03 model also has wings, Ken Blackburn, the Guinness World Record holder, does not agree to add a "tail" to the tail of the paper plane. When he explained the aerodynamics of paper airplanes on his website, it was unnecessary to mention the tail wing. Taking the actual B-2 phantom flying wing bomber as an example, he mentioned that the counterweight along the wing moved the center of gravity forward, so the plane was more stable.
1977, according to the aerodynamic principle of hang glider, Edmond Hui independently invented a new paper plane similar to stealth bomber. This paper plane he called Paperang (website) is quite unique. It has an accurately controllable airfoil and a wing with a large aspect ratio; Its construction method enables the builder to change various parts of the fuselage shape. This makes it the subject of a book entitled Interesting Paper Plane published by 1987 and many newspaper articles by 1992. Because of the use of staples, it can't participate in most paper airplane competitions, but its excellent gliding performance makes its gliding ratio reach 12: 1, which is quite stable.
Although it is generally believed that light paper planes fly farther than other planes, Blackburn thinks this is not true. He broke the paper airplane record (explanation) 20 years ago based on his belief that the best airplane has short wings and the center of gravity is at the point where the thrower throws the airplane, while long wings and lighter weight can make the paper airplane fly farther, but it can't give more power in the throwing stage. Blackburn said, "In order to reach the maximum altitude and make a good transition to gliding, the throwing angle must be horizontal 10 degrees"-at least 60 miles per hour (about 100 kilometers per hour) is necessary for him to successfully throw the plane.
world record
Over the years, many people have tried to break through the limitation of the longest stay time of hand-thrown aircraft in the air. Ken Blackburn holds this Guinness World Record 13 years (1983- 1996). 19981010.8, he set a flight record for an indoor paper plane, and his paper plane stayed in the air for 27.6 seconds. Guinness official and CNN report witnessed and reported this record. The paper plane that Blackburn used in this attempt to record the impact was classified as gliding (engine-less aircraft).
Austrian paper plane world championship
Agence France-Presse reported that throwing paper airplanes in the classroom was once a "patent" for unruly students, but now, paper airplanes have flown out of the classroom and become a popular sport all over the world, and paper airplane enthusiasts from all over the world will have the opportunity to participate in the World Paper Aircraft Championship.
Nicholas Diskams is an information technology major in a French school. While studying the paper in his hand, he said, "The secret of folding a good plane lies in patience, symmetry and a good eye for knowing where to fold." He and 75 other contestants will use only a piece of A4 paper to try to make an excellent paper plane and take part in the World Paper Plane Championship in France to see who can fly farthest, farthest and do the best aerobatics.
After an hour's warm-up in the big classroom of a local middle school, the promising players picked out their best events from the three competitions. The winner will take part in the French National Championship to be held in Monaco next month, and compete with winners from eight other French cities for tickets to the final of the World Paper Aircraft Championship to be held in Salzburg, Austria in mid-May. By then, there will be experts from 48 countries.
"This kind of competition is only for students, but there are also many paper airplane enthusiasts from all over the world," said jeffrey carter Ladd, representative of the French division of the Red Bull Cup Paper Aircraft Championship. According to the regulations of the three competitions, all competitions need to be held indoors without wind, and all planes must be folded from an ordinary piece of paper. According to the regulations of the organizer, this paper can only be folded, and it is not allowed to be torn, pasted, cut, nailed or filled with other items. At the moment of throwing the plane, you need to land on your feet, but before that, you can have one foot off the ground. Stepping on the line will be disqualified.
There are more and more websites dedicated to paper airplane enthusiasts, which also means that the popularity of this sport is getting wider and wider. The Civil Engineering Department of Imperial College London, London, founded in 1989, held a paper airplane competition. Subsequently, the Paper Aircraft Association was established with the aim of "promoting the development of paper aircraft technology". The association is still studying the origin of paper airplanes to find out who invented them for the first time and when. The association said it was probably from China because "they first started using paper and started flying kites hundreds of years ago."
The "Paper Aircraft Association" said that it has proved that it is not easy to make a paper plane that can fly. "Unfortunately, those who think that making paper airplanes is a very simple thing are often proved wrong, especially if you want to set a world record," the association said on the paper airplane network. Indeed, this view has been confirmed many times in Marseille, France. Many inferior paper planes flew only a few feet and crashed to the ground. Only one or two did well and could fly 26 meters (85.5 feet).
However, this is still far from the world record. Tony Flat, a famous American paper airplane designer, set a world record for flying distance with 1985- 193 feet (58.82 meters). So far, no one has broken it. This height is longer than the Wright brothers' first flight.