Learning how to make a paper airplane is easy once you know the best techniques – this post is going to walk you through steps to make a paper airplane that will actually fly!
Making a paper airplane is simple and literally only requires a single sheet of paper. No expensive crafting supplies needed! Whether you want to hold a paper airplane contest or you just enjoy origami craft projects, this is a fun paper craft to make.
Tips for how to make a paper airplane
Before we get folding, here are a few tips to help you get started with making paper airplanes:
- Be mindful of paper thickness – Thinner paper is easier to fold more precisely. Using origami paper or plain printer paper is a good material for making paper airplanes. Thicker paper like cardstock is much harder to fold into a specific shape.
- Play around with different designs – While this post is going to give you step by step to make an effective basic paper airplane, feel free to play around with different paper airplane designs to test out how different folds will effect the distance, speed, etc. that the paper airplane will fly.
- Have fun – Remember this is just a fun paper craft, no need to feel pressure to get each fold exactly right.
Ways to use a paper airplane
Once you learn how to make a paper airplane, there are several different ways to incorporate them into other crafts. Here are a few ideas to get your creative juices flowing!
Paper airplane mobile
A fun way to use paper airplanes in a craft is to create a paper airplane mobile. Use string to attach several paper airplanes in a mobile that can be hung from the ceiling over a crib or in a bedroom.
Paper airplane birthday card
If you’re looking for a unique birthday card idea to make or the recipient is an aviation fan, writing a birthday message on the paper airplane will be a memorable birthday card.
Hold a paper airplane competition
A fun way to get into the spirit of paper crafting is to have a paper airplane competition. Whether it’s at school, work, or home with friends a paper airplane competition can be a great way to bring your competitive spirit to crafting.
Here are the steps for how to make a paper airplane that will actually fly
Let’s get into the steps to make a paper airplane!
1. Fold the paper in half the “hot dog” way
When starting to learn how to make a paper airplane, the first step is to fold the paper in half the “hot dog” way. Press down on the fold to create a crease and then unfold the paper.
2. Fold the top corners of your paper down
Next, orient the paper vertically in front of you and fold the top corners of the paper down so that the edges line up with the middle. Use the crease from the fold in Step 1 as your guide to know how much to fold down the corners.
3. Fold the top right and top left corners to the middle
The next step for how to make a paper airplane is to fold each top corner to the middle. Keeping the paper oriented the same way, fold the left diagonally so that the corner ends up in the middle of the paper airplane. Use the center crease as a guide again, matching up the top left point to the middle.
Then, repeat the same step on the right side of the paper as well.
4. Fold the plane in half
The next step in how to make a paper airplane is super simple – fold the plane in half so it looks like the photo above!
5. Create the wings of the plane
About an inch from the bottom, fold each half down to create a plane wing on each side. Start with the side facing you and then flip the plane over to do the same thing on the other side.
6. Add tips to the wings
The final touch for how to make a paper airplane that will fly is to add tips to each wing. Make a small diagonal fold on each wing like the photo above.
Those are the steps for how to make a paper airplane!
Your paper airplane is now complete and ready for take off. When you’re done folding, try throwing it to see how well it flies. Make adjustments accordingly to improve the flight.
Now that you have the basics down, you can start playing around the paper airplane design to get your best outcome.
Comment below with your top tips to get a paper airplane flying high!
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