Paper Planes
You are just 6 steps away from folding a paper plane that really flies
Red Bull Paper Wings pilots use basic designs to create World Championship-winning paper planes. Here’s a model you can make in minutes – all you need is a single sheet of paper.
When it comes to paper planes, there’s plenty to learn from the pilots in the Airtime and Distance categories of Red Bull Paper Wings, who create marvels of flight with a sheet of A4 paper. No glue, no tearing the page – just a few precise folds produce results like the 13.33s hangtime of Airtime winner Cameron Clark (AUS), and the 56.61m trajectory of Distance champ Jake Hardy (USA), in 2019.
In many cases, the pilots start by perfecting a basic design and then adding their own modifications to give themselves an edge. So here’s a basic design that hits the sweet spot: solid and easy to balance, it flies as it is. And it’s a good foundation if you get the urge to innovate with refinements.
Grab yourself a sheet of paper and check it out here. Then have a look at the steps below for extra details.
1. Fold the paper in half and unfold
© Red Bull Paper Wings
2. Fold the top corners to the centre line
© Red Bull Paper Wings
3. Fold the top sides to the centre line
© Red Bull Paper Wings
4. Fold in half along the centre line
© Red Bull Paper Wings
1. Fold the paper in half, with the crease longwise down the middle. For a balanced plane, take your time, carefully matching up the opposing edges. Then unfold it as if you are opening a book.
2. Take the top right corner and pull it in to meet the centre line. Do the same with the left corner. (Your plane will have the silhouette of a house with a pointed roof.) Be patient so that you get the crease exactly where you want it the first time. 'Do overs' just create irregularities in the paper surface that can cause drag.
3. Now fold the new top-right and top-left corners to the centre line, so that the outline of the overall shape is more streamlined and nearly triangular. Make sure your folds are clean and sharp by pressing firmly.
Be precise and make sharp folds.
© Filip Nagy / Red Bull Content Pool
4. Next, as if you’re closing a book, fold your plane in half along the centre line, with the smooth paper on the outside.
5. Finally, with the long crease as the bottom of your plane, create your wings by folding the top edges downward (making a new crease on each side that is relatively parallel to the centre line). You should have just enough paper between the wing fold and the centre fold to grasp your plane.
6. That’s it! Give it a throw!
Throwing a paper plane at Hangar-7 in Austria.
© Samo Vidic / Red Bull Content Pool
Insider hacks:
- If the nose rises then suddenly drops, you’ve got the equivalent of a stall. And nobody wants that. Try gently bending down the back part of the wings, but only slightly. Don’t crease them.
- If the nose drops into a dive right away, try bending the back part of the wings upward.
Tip:
Bending up the back part of the wings can also be great for aerobatics!
Ready to take off? Enter your best flight on TikTok by tagging @redbull and using #redbullpaperwings.
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