Record Breaking Paper Airplanes Ebook. Andrew Dewar

strength has been the training he did. For half a year before each attempt, he would spend an hour a day, six days a week, doing weight training and squats, and then another hour folding and flying airplanes. By contrast, Toda did little more than diet. His planes and his elegant throwing form have made anything more strenuous unnecessary. Blackburn uses brute power, which his plane has to absorb; Toda’s smooth throw accelerates the plane cleanly. It’s the difference between big surf and a tsunami.

      Toda’s form

      Blackburn’s form

      Going the Distance

      More than the record for time aloft, the record for the longest distance flown gets at the very nature of what counts as flight. Is a tightly wadded ball of paper a “paper airplane?” Is a twisted screw of paper? Or how about a dart with wings folded so many times they produce no discernable lift? Where do you draw the line?

      In fact, though, wads and darts of paper don’t fly as far as a well-designed plane, because they can’t glide to stretch out the flight after the initial speed wears off.

      John Collins was sure he had a great airplane. It flew straight and far, and a little tweaking, some very stiff paper and the careful use of tape made it even better. His problem was throwing it. When he put his strength into it, the plane fluttered and crashed. So he got a talented thrower to help him. Joe Ayoob had been a football quarterback. With a bit of training, he could make smooth flights that just ducked under the rafters of the hangar they used. And it was enough: on the day of the record attempt, the design, paper and throw all came together!

      Tony Felch used a very thickly folded dart with almost no wings for his flights. But they would probably not pass the “fewer than four rolls” rule in place now. Nor would the cones and twists favored by Red Bull contestants. Stephen Krieger and John Collins both used planes with quite large wings; no doubt that’s the way to go now!

Distance Records Over the Years
1979	140’ 2”	Tony Felch, on August 9
1982	155’ 7”	Eugene Sykes, on February 5
1985	164’ 4”	James Zongker, on March 28
1985	193’ 0”	Tony Felch, on May 21, with his dart-like “Nemesis” design
2003	207’ 4”	Stephen Krieger, on September 6, with his “Avenger” design
2012	226’ 10”	John Collins and Joe Ayoob, on February 26, with Ayoob throwing Collins’ “Suzanne” design
Who will be next? Will it be you?

      Stephen Krieger’s “Avenger.” Photo courtesy of John Collins.

      John Collins’ “Suzanne.” Photo courtesy of John Collins.