Posts

Start here ✈️ Free paper planes in 3 steps
1. Pick a plane
13 designs, from Beginner to Ace.
2. Choose a size
Download or print in A4, A5 or A6.
3. Cut, fold & fly
Share how far yours flew!

5 Tricks to Make Your Paper Plane Fly Farther

Image
Ryan here! Everyone wants their plane to go the farthest. Here are the five tricks I use when I test my planes. Long skinny wings are great for gliding a long way. Make sharp, even folds. Press every fold flat with a pencil. Wobbly folds create extra drag. Keep both wings the same. Hold your plane up to the light. If one wing looks different, fix it. A plane with matching wings flies straight. Trim with tiny bends. Bend the back edges of the wings up a very small amount to stop dives. Tiny changes work best. Throw smooth, not hard. A gentle forward push with the nose a little up beats a wild throw. Hard throws make some designs flip. Choose a glider design. Planes with long, thin wings like my Sailplane glide for a long time because they make lots of lift and little drag. Challenge: Fly your plane from the same spot three times, mark where it lands and measure the distance. Change one thing, then measure again. That is a real science test! Want to build it? Download the free pr...
Post a Comment
Read more

Paper Helicopter Experiment: Make a Rotocopter That Spins

Image
I love this one because it looks like magic. You drop a piece of paper and it spins all the way down like a tiny helicopter. This is called a rotocopter , and my template has four sizes on one page so you can test them against each other. A paper rotocopter spinning as it falls. How it works When the helicopter falls, air pushes up on the two bent blades. Because the blades are folded in opposite directions, the air makes them turn. The faster it falls, the faster it spins, and the spinning slows the fall. Build it Print the Rotocopter template and cut along the solid lines. Fold the two blades in opposite directions along the dashed lines. Fold the bottom of the strip up and add one paper clip. Climb on a chair (with a grown-up nearby), hold it high and let go. Experiment: which size spins best? Make all four sizes. Drop each one three times from the same height and ask a friend to time the fall with a phone timer. Write the times in your Flight Log. My guess is that the biggest bl...
Post a Comment
Read more

Why Do Paper Planes Fly? Lift, Weight, Thrust and Drag Explained

Image
Ryan here! Every plane in the world, from my paper darts to giant airliners, is pushed and pulled by four forces . When you understand them, you can fix a plane that will not fly. The four forces of flight acting on a paper plane. The four forces Lift pushes the plane up. It happens because the wings move through the air and push it downward, so the air pushes the wings up. Weight pulls the plane down. Gravity pulls everything towards the ground. Thrust pushes the plane forward. For a paper plane, thrust is the throw from your arm. Drag slows the plane down. It is the air rubbing against the plane. A plane glides when these forces are balanced. A paper plane has no engine, so as soon as your throw runs out, drag slowly wins, and the plane lands. Try this experiment Make two Classic Darts. Add one paper clip to the nose of one of them. Throw both with the same push, three times each. Write down which one flies farther and which one dives. What is happening? The clip adds weight a...
Post a Comment
Read more

How to Make the Classic Dart Paper Plane (Step by Step)

Image
Hi, I'm Ryan! The Classic Dart is the first plane every pilot should learn. It is fast, it is easy, and it is the one I use to test new ideas. On this page I will show you how to fold it, and you can print my template so every fold line is already drawn for you. The template, a pencil, a ruler and a folded Dart: everything you need. What you need One sheet of paper (A4 is best, but A5 and A6 make fun mini planes) A pencil or pen to press the folds flat A flat table to work on Fold it in 6 steps Fold in half the long way along the blue dashed line, then open it again. This line is your centre keel. Fold the top corners in to meet the centre line. You now have a point like a house roof. Fold the new slanted edges in to the centre line again. The nose gets sharper. Fold the whole plane in half along the centre line, with the folds on the outside. Fold each wing down so the top of the wing lines up with the bottom edge of the plane. Open the wings flat so they make a very slight...
Post a Comment
Read more

Welcome to PowerUp Flights! ✈️ 13 Free Templates to Build and Fly

Image
Hi, I'm Ryan, and welcome to my hangar! I love planes and anything that flies, so I design my own paper planes and gliders, test them, and share the templates here so you can build them too. 13 free flight templates are ready! From a classic paper dart to a biplane, a flying wing and a spinning rotocopter. Every one is a printable page with cut lines, fold lines and easy steps. See all templates → A few to start with: Classic Dart Beginner Rotocopter Beginner Straight-Wing Trainer Beginner Flying Wing Ace How it works Pick a design. Start with a Beginner one, then level up to Pilot and Ace. Download and print it. A4 for full size, A5 or A6 for minis. Cut, fold and fly! Each design has a how-to video if you get stuck. Built one? Leave a comment and tell me how far it flew! Comments are checked by a grown-up before they appear.
Post a Comment
Read more