How to Make Good Paper Gliders

Distance and Accuracy

• 1

  Fold a piece of paper in half lengthwise. If you used a 9- by 11-inch piece of paper, it should now be folded to be 4.5- by 11-inches. Whenever you fold the paper, run your thumbnail along the crease to make it as sharp and defined as possible.

• 2

  Open the piece of paper.

• 3

  Fold down two of the nearer corners of the piece of paper (the ones 9 inches apart) to meet at the middle crease. Your piece of paper should now be shaped vaguely like a house: A rectangular block topped by a triangle.

• 4

  Fold the points where the triangle meets the square in to meet the center crease. This is basically repeating the prior step, but taking into account the new shape of the piece of paper. You should now have a significantly pointier piece of paper that already resembles a paper airplane.

• 5

  Fold the paper in half lengthwise along the crease you formed in Step 1.

• 6

  Fold each half of the paper down an equal distance to create wings.

Air Time

• 7

  Lay a piece of paper in front of you with one of the shorter sides nearest to you.

• 8

  Fold about an inch of paper up from the bottom. If you are using a 9- by 11-inch piece of paper, it should now be folded to be about 9- by 10-inches.

• 9

  Fold the paper over again in the same direction to envelop the original fold within a new fold, resulting in a piece of paper folded to be about 9- by 9-inches.

• 10

  Continue folding the paper over an inch at a time until it is about 9- by 5-inches.

• 11

  Turn the piece of paper upside-down and fold it in half from left to right with the heavily folded section ending up outside. Your paper should now be about 4.5 inches (9 inches folded in half) by 5 inches. Fold down each side of the paper an equal distance to form wings.