LITMIR.BIZ

      Build in a Minute, Fly for a Minute

      When I was a kid, I occasionally bought some balsa wood and tissue paper, a propeller, and a bit of rubber, and then spent several weekends turning them into a model airplane. I knew from magazines that they should fly great, if I had the patience to build and trim them properly.

      Well, I didn’t have that patience, and my planes didn’t fly.

      What I really wanted to do was get out flying right away. Several days of building were too much.

      But if I used paper instead of balsa, I found I could put together a decent model rather quickly and be out on the lawn flying in no time. (And paper didn’t require trips to a distant shop to buy special supplies!)

      The planes in this book are the ultimate expression of that desire for interesting models that can be built quickly but still have exciting performance. By carefully folding and stapling, these planes can be assembled and trimmed in little more than a minute, perhaps right at the park. Yet they fly for a surprisingly long time — probably longer than any paper airplane you’ve built before. A model like Cirrus might even fly for longer than it takes to put together — built in a minute, and flown for a minute!

      Here you go, your dream fulfilled. What are you waiting for?

      Tools and Techniques

      stapler

      ruler

      craft knife (and cutting mat)

      tweezers

      scissors

      white or stick glue (optional)

      Use a ruler when you fold for crisp, straight creases that don’t weaken the paper.

      Once you’ve creased the paper, use your fingers to gently fold it to just the right angle.

      Gently bend the wings with your fingers to “train” camber (curvature) into the paper.

      You can push out the larger parts with your fingers, but the paper will be less likely to crease or tear if you use a craft knife to cut them loose. Cut slits carefully with scissors.

      Hold the layers of paper tightly when stapling, and use the marks as guides. But don’t push too hard or too suddenly when stapling, or the staple will bend. Just operate the stapler normally and the staple will punch right through all the paper.

      Carefully trim the flash from around the edges of parts you have pushed out. This will make them look cleaner and fit together better.

      Don’t worry if you accidentally tear the paper or cut the wrong thing. In most cases you can patch up the cut from the inside with a small scrap of paper. Butt the two edges together, and glue the patch behind it, or between two parts. If the patch is small, it won’t affect the balance.

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