One Minute Paper Airplanes. Andrew Dewar

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      Just enough glue.

      Too much glue.

      If you don’t have a suitable stapler, you can also use glue to build these planes. Use a toothpick to spread a drop of white school glue evenly over the whole surface to be glued. Very little is needed; in fact, a transparent film sticks much better than a thick layer. A little glue will make strong, clean joints. Too much glue will warp the paper and ooze out at the edges, and make your plane look messy and grimy. And messy, warped planes don’t fly very well. I recommend that you practice with scraps of paper before gluing actual parts.

      Test Flying

      Just right!

      Warped wings!

      Warped tail!

      Your plane won’t fly well if the wings are warped or twisted. You can check alignment by holding the model at arm’s length and examining it from the front and back.

      Add camber and fix warps by gently twisting the paper in the wings and tail with your fingers. Tweak a tiny bit at a time until everything is straight.

      Paper is affected by moisture in the air and drying sunlight, both of which can warp the paper slightly, so you should re-check the plane when you get to the park, and again every few flights.

      The upturn of the wings is called dihedral. It helps keep the plane level, because lift pulls at right angles to each wing, and when the plane banks, the lift created by the level wing increases, and straightens the whole plane until the lift is equal again. Delta-winged planes like Thunder-bird and Wraith don’t need dihedral, because the triangular wing shape has the same effect, but most of the planes in this book should have a little.

      Test fly the airplane gently at first, onto a carpet or bed or dry lawn. Toss the plane straight forward firmly and watch how it flies. If it stalls (B) or dives (C), adjust it and test fly again, until it glides gently like pattern A.

      Just right!

      Fix a stall by bending the rear of the stabilizer down slightly.

      Fix a dive by bending the rear of the stabilizer up slightly.

      If the plane turns to one side or the other, adjust it until it flies straight as in pattern 2.