How to Make a Very Easy Paper Airplane

A version of the same paper plane, with upturned winglets added in.

Folding paper airplanes is a surprisingly complex hobby, where projects are valued both for their aesthetics and their flying performance. That performance is a combination of weight, balance and aerodynamics. You can get a grasp on the basic principles--or just have a little pointless fun--by folding an easy paper airplane and experimenting with it. Small children can complete this project with appropriate supervision as soon as they have adequate hand-eye coordination to do the folding, but make sure to monitor them when they play with the plane since it does have a somewhat sharp point.

Things You'll Need

• 1 sheet 8 1/2 by 11-inch paper

Instructions

1. Lay a piece of letter-size (8 1/2 by 11 inches) paper out in front of you. The paper should be smooth, with no creases or wrinkles in it.

2. Fold the paper lengthwise (matching one long side up to the other long side) and crease. Run your thumbnail along the crease to sharply define it. Open the paper, undoing the fold you just made.

3. Fold the right lower corner of the paper into the crease you just made, forming a triangle. What was the bottom half of the short side of the paper, on the right side, should now lie flush with the crease you just made in Step 2. Crease.

4. Repeat Step 3 on the upper right corner of the paper. Crease. You should now have a piece of paper that's folded to a triangle-shaped point on the right side.

5. Fold the creases you made in Steps 3 and 4 in to the midline fold you made in Step 2. Crease. Your paper should now taper to a sharper triangle point on the right side.

6. Fold the bottom edge of the paper up to the top edge along the midline crease from Step 2. Re-crease along the original fold.

7. Bring the upper layer of paper down and crease it about 1 inch above the original Step 2 midline fold, parallel to that same fold. This creates one wing of the plane.

8. Flip the paper over and repeat Step 7 on the other side, bringing the second wing down and creasing it about an inch above that same fold, even with the Step 7 fold. Pinch the midline fold with one hand as you open the folded wings of the plane out to horizontal with your other hand. Your paper airplane is now complete and ready for its first toss.

Tips & Warnings

• You can make this plane even easier for small children by eliminating Step 5.