Basic Dart

A basic design with decent distance and speed.

Basic Dart

A basic design with decent distance and speed.

This is one of the most iconic paper airplane designs, and also one of the easiest to fold. It flies very fast, in a nice straight line. A forgiving airplane design that works well even with uneven or asymmetrical folds. The perfect starter airplane for anyone just learning.

Easy difficulty Letter & A4 Paper Distance Measurements

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Steps

Video Guide

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Paper Airplane Folding Instructions

1. Fold the paper in half.

2. Unfold and then fold the corners into the center line.

3. Fold the top edges to the center.

4. Fold the paper airplane in half.

5. Fold the wings down to meet the bottom edge of the plane's body.

Final Paper Airplane Design

This airplane has stiff wings, so it can tolerate fast throwing speeds. Throw it as hard as you can for maximum distance and speed.

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Video Instructions

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Printable Folding Instructions

These beautiful, easy to follow, paper airplane folding instructions can be downloaded and printed as many times as you want. Simply follow the printed instructions and fold along the indicated lines to make a perfect paper airplane, every time.

Sample Paper Airplane Printable Instructions

Sample Paper Airplane Printable Template

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Number of Folds	5
Distance Flown Average Distance Thrown by a 10yr old	40.8 ft / 12.5 m
Time Aloft Average Time Aloft Thrown by a 10yr old	1.4 sec

Convert to Imperial	Letter Paper
Length The distance from nose to tail	29.5 cm
Wingspan The longest distance from wingtip to wingtip	11.1 cm
CG Location The distance from nose to balancing point	15.7 cm
Wing Chord The average length of the wing, from front to back	15.2 cm
Wing Area The area of all wing surfaces	168.5 cm²
Wing Loading The averaged weight carried by the wings	273 g/m²

The CG Location is the optimal spot for the paper airplane to balance on your finger tips. It is measured from the nose of the airplane down the middle. If the CG is too far back, the airplane will stall. If it is too far forward it will dive into the ground. You can move the CG around by adding a staple, paper clip or other small weights.

The Wing Loading is how much of the paper airplane's weight is being lifted by each unit area of the wing's surface. In general, an airplane with a lower wing loading will glider better. A standard piece of 75gsm printer paper is used for all of these measurements across the website.

References

• The Worlds Greatest Paper Airplane and Toy Book

• The Ultimate Guide to Paper Airplanes

• Paper Planes

Of Interest

• Fold'N Fly Paper Airplane Book

• Motorized Propeller for Paper Airplanes

• Paper Airplane Launchers

• Foam Airplanes

• Balsa Wood Airplanes

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This paper airplane can be used to accomplish the challenging tasks in Level 1 of the Original Paper Airplane League. Progressively improve your paper airplane skills and climb the ranks of this online club.