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Folding
Technique - Folding technique is very
important for successful flights. Make
each of the folds carefully and accurately
according to the instructions. Creases
should be made by applying pressure to the fold with the edge of your
thumbnail. This is
best achieved by holding your thumbnail on the fold, applying pressure,
and pulling your thumb along the fold line toward you.
This will produce clean, crisp folds that will allow
for accurate paper planes. If
you make a mistake on a fold that you cannot correct, don’t
be discouraged! Just
print another template.
Line
Types – There are two main types of lines
referenced by the instructions: fold lines and cut lines.
Fold lines are dashed and
cut lines are dotted.
Model
Adjustments – No matter what anyone tells you,
EVERY paper airplane needs fine-tuning to achieve its best performance. There are several things
you should keep in mind while making adjustments to your
planes.
Dihedral –
Dihedral is a slight upward tilt of the wing tips with respect to the
fuselage or body of the airplane. This
produces a slight V-shape to the wings when
viewed from the front of the plane. Dihedral
provides aerodynamic stability to your
models by making them want to self-center during flight.
Paper airplanes have no
intelligent flight controls after they leave your hand, so the plane
needs to be naturally stable or else it will crash.
All designs on this site perform better when some
dihedral is added to the wings.
Elevator –
Elevator is the aeronautical term for the hinged flap at the tail
section of a plane that causes it to either climb (gain altitude) or
dive (lose altitude). In paper airplanes these flaps are
generally located on the trailing edge of the wings themselves, since
there is rarely a separate tail. They are formed by making
parallel cuts about 1 inch apart. This produces a small flap
that can be folded slightly up or down. Tilting the elevator
flaps up will cause the plane to climb. Tilting them down
will make the plane want to dive. If you find that your
models are heading nose-down toward the ground shortly after launch,
you may need to add some up elevator. Likewise, if they are
looping-up too quickly or stalling, you may need to add some down
elevator. Adding slightly more elevator to one wing than the
other will cause the plane to either turn to the right or left.
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