I’ve been making paper airplanes since the second grade. Growing up in an all boys Catholic school, perfecting the art of the quintessential paper airplane is not a need but a necessity. The only way to get word around when classes are in progress, the sophisticated cousin of the crushed paper ball if you will. Airplanes delivered the message with relative precision and was a widely accepted means of pan-class communication.
Before I get carried away, Ahh, yes! The Paper Airplane. There supposedly exists the perfect 10 of paper airplanes. There have been many before it and there will be many after, but this is the big daddy of them all. I wasn’t too busy today so why not try making it and testing it against some of the tried and tested models.
But before we get started,
Disclaimer! All paper used in this exercise is recycled. No fresh paper was wasted in the making of this experiement
I tested all of the models out and rated them on 5 based on three criteria.
Endurance (Range), Stability and Design Integrity.
I tested the aircraft out at a local park. It was in the middle of the afternoon so wind was almost non existent. Each model was given three sorties and the final result is a representation of the the average flight performance.
Design corrections to the model were made only after the completion of the mandatory three sorties and the corrections were based on the observation of the flight characteristics.
So let’s go over the cases one by one.
1. THE BIRDIE
The first sortie was a complete flop. The aircraft literally flopped onto the ground.
The second attempt was no better. The aircraft attained level flight for a mere three feet before swerving wildly to the right and smashing into the gravel, nose down.
The third attempt was very similar to the second with the slight exception of the aircraft rolling to the starbird wing almost as soon as it was released followed by a nosedive.
Problems & Design Modifications
One recurring factor was that the main wings were folding inwards during flight. This creates a very high angle of attack which results in premature stalling and the crash. I tried to improve upon the design by making the wings ever so slightly dihedral.
To combat the roll induced by the new wing configuration, the winglets on the model were folded to point downwards, staving off any uneven laminar flow leakage.
Results
My design modification did result in a longer duration of steady flight but had an unexpected side effect. The model began rolling constantly.
Folding the winglets down helped a great deal in stabilizing the aircraft but in terms of flight endurance, the aircraft did not perform as expected.
Flight Range: 6 Feet
TAP Rating: 2.5/5
2. THE DART
The dart has the distinction of being the only model here to have almost identical sorties. The aircraft flew straight and true for all three sorties. Although it did not possess as much character as the unpredictable and fussy birdie, the model performed satisfactorily.
The only drawback was that the nose kept dipping on all three sorties.
Problems & Design Modifications
As I could identify only one major problem, I set about correcting the nose dip on the model. I added some primitive elevators on the rear section of the wing by folding the paper upwards. It took some trial and error to get the angle right but it did succeed in the end.
Results
The addition of rudimentary elevators did add some stability to the model and extracted the most out of the model.
Flight Range: 13.7 Feet
TAP Rating: 3.5/5
3. The Reaper
The reaper is often found splashed around on forums. Known for its gliding prowess, I walked into the arena with high expectations. It took me a few tries to get the aircraft folded and in order but I think I got it right……mostly. It almost seemed other worldly because just as I picked the model up, the gust picked up as if a spirit had been awakened. The model certainly lived up to its name.
I waited for the slight gust to die down and went through the same standard routine. Three sorties followed by my modifications based on flight characteristics.
All three sorties were rather bizarre to say the least. The first sortie saw the aircraft flying a few feet, “flipping” over on its back and proceeding to make a controlled landing.
The second sortie saw the aircraft swerve to the right followed by another “flip” and a controlled landing.
The final sortie saw the model flying steady, doing another one of its infamous “flips” and a straight nosedive into the ground.
Problems & Design Modifications
The problem is quite obvious. How do I stop the aircraft form “flipping” onto its back?
My first almost knee jerk reaction was to add elevons. But nothing came of that but instead caused the model to not stop at just flipping but to continue into a “death roll”.
I thought of the stabilizing effect the winglets had on the birdie and decided to incorporate them into the reaper.
Results:
The winglets proved to be extremely effective and the aircraft held its own. The flipping stopped and the death rolls were vanquished. However, the flight characteristics were still poor. The angle of descent for the aircraft was rather steep. I can’t help but believe that the aircraft would perform much better if you were to release it at a height rather than at ground level where this test was carried out.
Flight Range: 4.8 Feet
TAP Rating: 2/5
4. The Javelin
People around me have sworn by the Javelin. I’ve had some luck with the Javelin but nothing to boast of.
The Javelin went through the same set of tests. Three sorties.
Sortie 1: The Javelin pulled up, stalled at a very steep Angle of Attack and nosedived
Sortie 2: The Javelin took a very sharp trajectory and nosedived into terra firma, permanently damaging its sharp Javelin like nose.
Sortie 3: (Read Sortie 1)
Problems & Design Modifications
I tried the usual techniques and added stabilators but to no avail. The rest of the test flights were affected by the badly damaged nose.
Results
The aircraft’s performance did not improve and the crash damage meant that I had very few options. I tried to patch up the nose by folding it over but it only made the characteristics even more worse.
Flight Range: 2 Feet
TAP Rating: 1/5
5. Ye Old Standard
I don’t think this model has a name. Spotted around elementary schools around the world, my sense of familiarity put me at ease so much so that my confidence in the bird hardly mattered.
Same routine. Three sorties.
The first sortie started out fine but saw the aircraft banking to the left and heading into the ground.
The second sortie saw the airplane flying straight and the sortie didn’t seem to end. I didn’t notice any considerable or sudden change in altitude. She gradually dipped till she landed smoothly on the gravel.
The final sortie was great. The aircraft traced the flight path of the previous aircraft and kept going past the landing site of sortie 2. It was beautiful.
Problems & Design Modifications
None! She flew great the first time around.
Results
It’s probably because of the aircraft’s long wingspan but the aircraft looked magnificent, soaring throughout the flight with an almost god like ease and shattered the other contenders’ endurance records.
Flight Range: 27 Feet
TAP Rating: 4.5/5
Rather ironic that the least complex design won. I don’t always believe in “If it ain’t broken, don’t fix it”, but it was definitely true in this case. Of course there were a number of variable parameters such as the release force, momentum and gust factor but that’s the beauty of the paper airplane. It’s never going to be tested in laboratory conditions. The schoolyard, the classroom and the corridors are where these aircraft are put through its paces.
So there we have it.
Blog post 1 is over.
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