Hey there! Today, we’re going to have some fun making paper airplanes. It’s super easy, and you can join in with just a piece of paper. Let’s get started!
First, take your paper and fold it in half like a hot dog bun. Then, unfold it and lay it flat again. Next, fold down the top two corners so that each corner reaches the middle fold. Your paper should now look like a square at the bottom with two triangles on top.
Now, find the outer corner of each triangle and fold it over so that it touches the middle fold. Close up your paper and flip it over. Fold down each side about halfway to make the wings. And there you have it—a paper airplane!
Now that we’ve made our airplane, let’s see how it flies. It’s all about forces! The same forces that help paper airplanes glide also keep real airplanes flying high in the sky.
A force is something that pushes or pulls on something else. For your paper airplane to fly, it needs a force called thrust. In real airplanes, engines create thrust by taking in air and pushing it out the back really fast. But our paper airplane doesn’t have engines, so where does the thrust come from? That’s right—from you! When you throw the paper airplane, you’re providing the thrust by pushing it forward.
After you throw it, your airplane doesn’t get any more thrust and just glides, which is why it eventually falls to the ground. But we want our airplane to float on the air, so we need another force called lift. Lift comes from the shape of the plane. When the airplane’s wings slice through the air, they create lift. The air moves up and over the wing, pushing less on the plane from above than from below, making the plane go up.
Our paper airplane doesn’t have a lot of lift because the wings are thin, so it needs a lot of thrust, meaning you need to throw it hard. But there are many ways to make paper airplanes with different shapes that use these forces to fly better.
Next time you’re looking for a fun indoor activity, grab some paper and start folding. If you come up with a design you’re proud of, share it with us! And if you have any questions, ask an adult to help you leave a comment or email us. Happy flying!
Experiment with Different Paper Types: Try making paper airplanes using different types of paper, such as construction paper, newspaper, or printer paper. Observe how each type of paper affects the flight of your airplane. Which one flies the farthest? Which one stays in the air the longest? Discuss why you think the different papers affect the flight in these ways.
Design Your Own Airplane: Use your creativity to design a new paper airplane. Think about how you can change the wings or the body to make it fly better. Once you’ve made your new design, test it out! Does it fly better or worse than the original design? Why do you think that is?
Observe Real Airplanes: Next time you see an airplane in the sky, watch how it moves. Notice how it takes off, flies, and lands. Think about the forces we talked about: thrust and lift. How do you think these forces are working on the real airplane? Share your thoughts with a friend or family member.
