Alex's Paper Airplanes – the best paper planes

Trapézio

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// FLIGHT MANUAL — MEDIUM DIFFICULTY

Trapézio

11 STEPS — ~7 MINUTES — A4 PAPER

This paper airplane is all wing with a heavy nose. The structure of the nose is quite unusual but very effective. Even if thrown as hard as possible at a wall it will be undamaged. The last time I saw the first one of these I made it was flying towards the Severn estuary from the top of a tall tower in Bristol.

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// VIDEO GUIDE

// STEP-BY-STEP INSTRUCTIONS

STEP 01

Fold your sheet of A4 paper along the diagonal lines shown in DIG. 1

STEP 02

You should get the shape shown in DIG. 2

STEP 03

Open it out to give DIG. 3 and fold along the dotted line shown

STEP 04

Push in from the two points labelled A in DIG. 3 to give the shape in DIG. 4.

STEP 05

Now flatten out this form and fold along the dotted lines in DIG. 5. You should find you are folding in flaps created by the previous folds.

STEP 06

This should give you the form in DIG. 6. Again now fold along the dotted line which gives DIG. 7

STEP 07

Fold along the two dotted lines in DIG. 7 again this is just bringing in the two top flaps.

STEP 08

This should give you the form in DIG. 8

STEP 09

The triangular flap in the center (underneath the two flaps you just produced) should have two pockets. Tuck the flaps produced in step 7 into these pockets as shown in DIG. 9

STEP 10

You should be left with a piece of paper looking like DIG. 10

STEP 11

Now turn the plane over and fold along the lines labelled AC and BC in DIG. 11. These folds are very important if you want to produce a plane that flies absolutely level.

// HOW TO FLY

This plane flies well indoors but is useless outdoors as the slightest breeze will make it crash. Hold it very near its shorter edge (the front) underneath the plane. Throw with a pushing motion or overarm so that when you let go it will be level or very slightly tilted downwards. You should find that this plane will glide very slowly for quite a long distance indoors.

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