from Hacker News

Paper airplane ideas and tips

by mottiden on 7/19/23, 9:52 AM with 25 comments

  • by metadat on 7/21/23, 3:09 PM

    Discussed previously:

    https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=36087442 (2 months ago, 79 comments)

    https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=32134691 (1 year ago, 96 comments)

    https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=18249755 (5 years ago, 208 comments)

  • by throwaway019254 on 7/21/23, 11:58 AM

    > The back of the wings can be adjusted to steer your paper airplane. Bend the wings up to make the airplane dive and bend the wings down to make the airplane climb.

    Isn't it the other way around?

  • by JKCalhoun on 7/21/23, 12:11 PM

    A few sheets of letter-size paper were like Legos for me when I was a young boy. Thanks mom for sneaking some typing paper home from your secretary job when you were raising my sister and I.

  • by bitwize on 7/21/23, 3:11 PM

    When I was a kid (about 10, 11, or so) I read up a lot on planes and aviation because I wanted to be a pilot someday. Also logged plenty of hours on Microsoft Flight Simulator. So I knew how airfoils worked and the physics principles involved, and decided to apply that knowledge to design my own paper airplanes.

    What I came up with involved construction paper taped to a bendy straw. The main wing was folded (but not creased) into an airfoil shape and attached to the long bit of the bendy straw. The short bit had paper elevators and rudder attached. By bending the straw I could set the plane to fly straight when thrown, or to turn, climb, or dive. It all worked pretty much according to plan and was one of my prouder childhood play moments. My wife laughed when I told her this and said it sounded like something her brother might do (a high compliment, as her brother is brilliant).

  • by canadiantim on 7/21/23, 1:55 PM

    I've used this with my nephew and can confirm it's very awesomesauce

  • by mg on 7/21/23, 3:56 PM

    I wish there was a competition to find out which paper plane stays in the air the longest.

    It would have to be an indoor competition where a machine throws the paper planes.

    I would be super curious which design wins.

  • by tamimio on 7/21/23, 4:42 PM

    Time to build some these with aluminum sheets!!

  • by lavezzi on 7/21/23, 6:34 PM

    Was always a fan of Folding@Home.