John Collins is The Paper Airplane Guy thanks to his years of paper airplane designs, including the world record paper airplane design for longest throw, as well as his super popular how-to books The New World Champion Paper Airplane Book and The World Record Paper Airplane.
In the Wired videos, above and below, Collins demonstrates how to create his looping, flapping, and long-distance traveling paper stunt planes, including the Boomerang I, the Boomerang II, the Bat Plane, the Tumbling Wing, and the world record paper airplane named Suzanne.
As Collins is fond of pointing out, every flight is a test flight—don’t be shy about tinkering with your paper craft to get it flying just right.
Also: “The center of spin is the center of gravity.” He explains a lot of the physics behind the form decisions he makes about his airplane designs. It’s excellent background information for designing your own paper airplanes.
Related folding: foldnfly.com, a database of paper airplanes with easy to follow folding instructions.
Related how-to books: The New World Champion Paper Airplane Book and The World Record Paper Airplane.
Related videos on TKSST include:• Paper airplane aerodynamics explained
• How to make a paper airplane that flies far: Strike Eagle
• Make an Air Surfing Foam Walkalong Glider
• the LEGO paper airplane-making machine
• more videos about paper folding
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