How to Build an Elastic Band-Powered Bird Plane

Improve the range of your paper airplanes by adding an elastic band airplane launcher.

Build your own elastic-powered bird plane with a few stationery supplies. You can experiment with different ways to fold the paper airplane to see which plane flies farthest and which plane glides the best. The addition of the rubber band to the traditional paper plane design makes the planes travel much farther. This is a fun activity for children of all ages and only takes a few minutes to make. It's a great way to learn about potential energy and aerodynamics too.

Things You'll Need

• Sheet of A4 printing paper
• Office tape
• Scissors
• Rubber band
• Marker, colored pencils, crayons or acrylic paint

Instructions

1. Place the sheet of paper on a flat working surface in front of you. The two short sides should be facing toward and away from you, while the long sides are on your left and right. Fold the piece of paper in half lengthwise and run your fingernail along the fold. Be precise with your folds.

2. Open the paper again. Fold the top, right corner inward until it sits flush against the center fold you just made. The corner should form a triangle. Fold the corner, rubbing your fingernail along the fold. Repeat for the top left hand corner. The side farthest from you is now pointed.

3. Fold the new top, right corner in toward the middle until it is flush with the center fold. The whole edge must be perfectly aligned with the center fold. Fold the corner down and repeat with the top, left corner.

4. Turn you paper airplane over. Fold the right hand top corner (which is just above the bottom, right corner by now) over until it and the whole edge are aligned with the center fold. Repeat for the other side.

5. Pick the paper airplane up and fold both sides down along the center fold. Release the sides. You should have a complete plane with two wings and a fuselage.

6. Draw a bird on your plane. Eagles, hawks and sparrows work well, but you can turn your plane into any bird. Draw two eyes on either side of the fuselage near the front tip. Make a beak out of the front tip. Draw feathers on the wings and a tail on the back of the plane.

7. Tape the fusible about 5 inches from the nose. Cut two or three strips of tape and place them over each other for added strength. Cut a 1/2 inch notch in the center of the tape, angled toward the back of the plane.

8. Hold the back of the plane fuselage in your non-dominant hand. Hook the elastic into the notch with the other hand. Pull the elastic towards the nose of the plane and pull the plane back. Release the plane and watch your bird fly.

Tips & Warnings

• Be careful of shooting your fingers with the elastic.

References

• Alex's Paper Airplanes: Paper Airplane Designs
• YouTube: Rubber Band Airplane
• 10 Paper Airplanes: Home