How to Make Paper Planes

When you were a child, you probably loved it when your parents made paper airplanes to fly around the house or back yard. There are hundreds of different kinds of paper airplanes. Here's how to make three.

Things You'll Need

• 2 8½-by-10½ inch sheets of paper
• 7-by-7 inch sheet of paper

Instructions

The Glider

1. Lay an 8½-by-10½ inch sheet of paper vertically in front of you, as if you're about to write on it.

2. Fold the piece of paper in half (left side over right side) and then open it up again.

3. Take 1 cm off he top of the piece of paper by folding it down.

4. Continue folding this flap until about 3/8 of the length of the paper is folded. This is done to create a sturdy tip for the airplane.

5. Now take the top left corner of the airplane and fold it to the middle line (folded line) so that it creates a triangle. Do the same to the right corner. Now your paper should look like a fat arrow pointing upwards.

6. Fold your plane in half along the center and turn it on it's side.

7. Take the top left corner of the plane and fold it about halfway down the side of the plane. Do the same to the right side.

8. Hold the plane about half an inch from its tip, aim and throw!

Origami Paper Plane

1. Using your 7-by-7 inch sheet of paper, fold the top left corner to the bottom right corner and then the top right corner to the bottom left corner and open it up again.

2. Fold the top left corner down so that it's even with the top right corner and about halfway down the left side of the piece of paper.

3. Flip the plane upside down and do the same thing to the other end.

4. Fold the nose of the plane onto the tip of the crease in the middle of the paper.

5. Fold the nose over again about another ½ inch. Turn the paper so that the pointiest end is facing up. Fold about 1 inch of the bottom of the plane upward and fly.

Classic Plane

1. Place the 8½-by-10½ inch piece of paper in front of you as though you were going to write on it.

2. Fold the left side of the paper over the right side in order to create a long, skinny, vertical rectangle.

3. Turn the paper so that it is horizontal in front of you. Take the top left corner and fold it down so that it forms a small triangle on the left side of the rectangle.

4. Fold down the new fold you have created so that it lines up with the original fold.

5. Flip the plane over and do the same to the other side.

6. Hold the center of your plane and pull out the wings. Fly!

Tips & Warnings

• You can experiment with each kind of plane and add your own touches.

• Do not fly an airplane directly towards someone. Despite it only being paper, the pointy nose of the plane could easily poke someone's eye.