Paper Airplanes

In this Instructable, I will be teaching you how to make the ABSOLUTE BEST paper airplanes! You will need two sheets of paper, as we will be folding two paper airplanes! I have long searched for the best paper airplane design. Instead of one, I found two! You will be learning how to fold a glider and a dart.

So, we will be starting with folding the dart. You will need one normal 8 1/2 by 11 sheet of paper!

Start with a blank sheet of paper. If you are using colored paper, the color you want on the outside is facing down. Fold the paper by folding a triangle down. It's hard to explain, but the picture shows it all. Then unfold.

Do the same fold you did before, except this time fold the triangle the other way. Then unfold.

Now, fold the top right corner down so that the paper is along the crease that your fold left. Then do the same with the other side.

Fold the plane in half lengthwise. Then unfold.

Fold the tip down so that the tip of the plane is on the bottom edge.

Now fold the sides in so that their tips meet. The edges will line up along previous creases. Then unfold.

Fold the tip up so that the edges of it are on the crease that you had just previously made.

Now, fold the edges in to the crease that you had made two steps ago. Then fold them in again, this time on the crease that you made two steps ago.

Fold that tip that is sticking out down so that the fold is aligned with the two other edges. Then flip the plane over. Fold it in half. Then you can fold the wings. Experiment with different ways to fold the wings down. How I always fold my wings is that I fold one wing, then flip it over and fold the other wing by folding exactly where the other one was. Experiment with the wings! You have folded the BEST dart that there is on the Internet.

I am calling this one a butterfly, because, if you throw it correctly it should flap its wings. It is more of a fancy flier. You will need one piece of paper for it. Start with the paper horizontally, so that the long side is facing you. Then fold it in half from right to left.

Now fold the left edge back. It should look like a normal piece of paper, but with a fold down the middle. Then do the same fold on the other side.

Now rotate the piece of paper so that the fold is facing down i.e. you can lift the fold up. Then make the fold in the second picture. You are folding the paper from the top left corner to the bottom right corner. To help make this difficult fold, I suggest using a straightedge. Then flip it over and do the same, except this time from the bottom left corner up to the top right.

Now flip it back over to the first side you folded on. Then fold down the corner on the left all the way. Flip the paper over and repeat.

Unfold the center so that it looks like the first picture. Then flip it over.

Fold down the top of the model so that the tip touches the bottom edge. Make sure that the crease that runs through the top of the plane matches up with (well, the same crease) the crease on the bottom. Next, fold down the two corners on the side of the plane into an obtuse triangle. They should line up with the top of the upside down triangle.

You will now lock in your paper airplane. To do that, you will fold up that triangle. Then flip over the model. On the other side, fold the tip of the triangle down to lock together your folds.

Fold the plane in half. Now you will fold the wings. Just fold them so that there is enough room on the plane base for your fingers. Fold one wing, then turn the plane over and fold the other in a mirror image of the first. Now you are ready to fly. To throw the plane, bend the wings up into a "y" shape. The base is where you will put your fingers on and throw with a flick of the wrist. The plane should fly while flapping its wings. Awesome! You folded a great paper airplane.

Another way of throwing is this:

This way will not make the plane flap, but it will glide more. With the plane in the "y" shape, throw with a downward flick of the wrist. The plane will go down, then come up and flatten its wings. It should repeat that.

Good job!