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Trading height for distance

Why Does a Paper Plane Glide?

A paper plane glides by falling slowly forward, with air holding it up as it goes.

A gliding planeGravitypulling itdownAir pushing upon the wings
Always descending — just very slowly.

  1. Step 1 of 5

    It has no engine, so it is always falling.

    1 You give itheight andspeed2 It tradesheight fordistance3 It lands

    A glider cannot gain height on its own. It converts the height you gave it into forward distance, descending the whole way.

  2. Step 2 of 5

    Wings push air downward.

    The wing deflectsair downward Air pushes back upon the wing

    Air meeting a tilted wing is deflected down. Pushing air down means the air pushes the wing up just as hard.

  3. Step 3 of 5

    Wide flat wings work best.

    Wide wings Slow, long glideNarrow dart Fast, short flight

    More wing area means more air deflected per second, so it can fall more slowly. Narrow darts fly fast but sink quickly.

  4. Step 4 of 5

    Balance decides whether it flies at all.

    Nose-heavy Dives straight into thefloorTail-heavy Stalls and tumbles

    Weight must sit slightly ahead of the wings' lift. Too far back and it stalls and tumbles; too far forward and it dives.

  5. Step 5 of 5

    Small folds make big differences.

    Back edges up — noserisesOne wing bent — itturnsSharp creases — lessdrag

    Bending the back edges up raises the nose; bending one wing changes the turn. These are exactly the controls real aircraft use.

    The record for a paper plane throw is over 88 metres, achieved with a stiff dart thrown by a former sports pitcher.

The short version

A paper plane glides by deflecting air downward with its wings, trading height for distance the whole way down.

Try it yourself

Bend the two back corners of the wings slightly upward. The plane pulls its nose up and glides much further.

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