How to Make a Paper Model Plane

How to Make a Model Paper Airplane

• 1

  Choose your paper. You can make a paper airplane from notebook paper, but a stiffer paper is often better. Do not use anything thicker than card stock. If you use a stiffer paper, a bone folder is a good tool to make sure your creases are crisp and accurate.

• 2

  Place your paper on a clean, flat surface. A large book or a smooth-faced table will work well. If you have a piece of paper that is 8 1/2 by 11, fold it in half lengthwise. Make sure your edges and corners meet equally, and make a strong crease down the center of the paper. Double-check to make sure your edges meet well as you reinforce your crease.

• 3

  Open the paper so that the crease you just made is displayed lengthwise. The crease should be concave, with the bend facing the surface of the table. Make your first diagonal fold by grasping the top left-hand corner of your paper, beginning the crease at the tip of your vertical crease, and extending your new fold to the bottom left-hand corner. Do the same with the right-hand side of the paper that was divided by your first crease. You will now have a triangular shape, with the left-hand and right-hand corners overlapping.

• 4

  Fold your airplane in half along your original vertical crease. Open your plane back up and cut along the crease formed by each side flap where their creases meet the middle crease. When you're done, the side flaps will meet in the middle with no overlap. Fold the airplane back along the center crease, forming an elongated right-angle triangle.

• 5

  Form your airplane's wings by folding each flap back on itself. Turn the triangle so the right angle is on your bottom right. Take the bottom left-hand corner and fold the flap to your right so that the crease bisects the triangular top tip and the sides meet on the right. Make a sharp crease. Turn the airplane over and repeat this step, taking the bottom right-hand corner and folding the flap to your left.