I invented this plane years ago and it still remains my favourite. It can be easily
adapted to vary the amount of lift it has, and almost invariable flies bery straight.
It can also handle wind (if thrown the right way into the wind) and has made it off
Loughborough campus from an 11th storey window in the middle of the site.
Notes on the contruction
Standard beginning. Use a piece of A4 paper (297mm*210mm) to make this plane, or
a similarly proportioned size. If the lift is to be made different (see notes on
stage 2) then do not make the vertical fold yet.
This fold decides how much lift the plane will have. This model will fly flat.
To get more lift move the fold so the point of the paper is further to the left.
Experiment, but I find that moving it about an inch is usually sufficient. Make
the vertical fold previously made in stage 1 so that it intersects with the point.
Just crease the paper here - the diagonal creases should intersect with the horizontal
centre line and the vertical crease.
This looks strange, but I've tried to get some perspective it the picture. It should
be obvious what to do, if the previous creases are firm, to make it look like the
next picture.
Fold the flaps under the large triangle on the left of the paper. It might be easier
to almost unfold the other half of the plane to make each fold.
As a rough guide I make the fuselage about 2cm deep, and the vertical flaps about 3cm
deep. These fold ultimately decide how the plane will fly, so they need to be
as parallel as possible to the sides of the paper. Fold to make all the corners
90 degrees.
Notes on throwing
Throw holding just under half way back from the front. If it doesn't
fly straight then curl the back of the vertical flaps in the appropriate way. It is
quite sensitive - generally if it flies badly it's your fault! If you throw it so
one wing is higher than the other it will turn to the direction of the lower wing
because of it's natural lift, so you can throw it round corners. I've managed to
do a complete horizontal loop in my living room with this plane before now! All in
all a very versatile plane. To only slight problem is that it does need to be thrown
well, although you can adjust it to fit your natural bias.
