I was always fascinated by flight when I was a kid,.  If I wasn't out playing Frisbee, there were times that I would spend endless hours outdoors throwing paper airplanes.  There's no joy like the perfect plane sailing on seemingly forever.

I invented this paper airplane design around age 10 and it has withstood the test of time so I've finally decided to share it with the world.  As far as I know, this is by far the best single sheet of paper airplane design ever invented.  It has both extremely extraordinary power & finesse characteristics (hmm, sort of like the motion offense).  It's sturdy enough to throw as hard as you want to get it up in the air and do some nice tricks, but then it has amazing hovering qualities that allow it to glide gently back down to earth.  It really is an amazing airplane.  Build one and find out for yourself.  I bullshit you not. *I've inverted the colors in the photos below to help make the creases easier to see.

Step 1.

With an 8x11 piece of paper (most any size will do), make a crease along the long edge of the paper about one inch from the bottom.

Step 2.

Now undo that fold, it is only to be used as a guideline.  Now take one of the corners on the opposite side of the paper and fold it over so it lines up in the original crease.

Step 3.

Repeat with the other side.  This will look like a seemingly asymmetrical design but it is not.

Step 4.

Now fold the airplane in half, lining up the two corners and making sure the crease goes directly down the middle of the paper and ensuring that the overlapped section in the middle does NOT slide out to cause the plane to be unbalanced.

Step 5.

Next, open up the paper again and fold over the small overlapping section of paper so that it lines up with the crease in the middle of the paper.

Step 6.

Now fold over the rest of that half of the paper lining it up with the crease and making sure that the underlying flap does not slide out.

Step 7.

Repeat for the other side.  The plane should finally looks symmetrical.

Step 8.

Now fold the airplane back in half along the center meridian you made in step 4 and then proceed to make a crease on one of the wings directly from the tip of the nose to the very tip of the tail (I've marked where these creases should be in the photo above).  It takes a little patience to get the precision all the way to the nose but it's important to have a sharp tip.

Step 9.

Repeat for the other side and the airplane should now be complete.  When it's done, it should like like this from behind.

And like this from the side view.  Be sure to work the creases at this point to make them as sharp as you can and raise up the wings so the are at about a 25-30 degree angle above the horizon.

Step 10.

Have fun!!

Gripping the plane towards the front (a couple of inches from the nose), throw the paper airplane up as high as you can at about a 60 degree angle or so (this is NOT an indoor plane-unless you're in a gym).  It may do a loop-to-loop or two and then just coast back gently to a nice landing.  I've seen this catch the wind just right and stay motionless for some time just like a hang glider.  Very cool!!

You may need to make a few adjustments if it doesn't fly well but if you get the creases tight and the the plane symmetrical, it should fly great.

Step 11.

Play Dischoops.  It rocks too!!