About the Glider
Lift grows with the area of the wings, so broad wings can hold a plane up even when it’s slow. That’s why the glider floats.
Paper Plane Academy › Floaty
How to fold the Glider
Floaty, wide loops. 7 folds from a plain sheet, easy. Drag the red corner along its arrow, or press Fold.
- Hang time
- Indoors
Fold it alongStep by stepFly it wellPrint it
There it goes: the glider you folded is flying on this page. Catch it, and throw it again.
Folding a real one? Print its template: every crease, numbered.
How it flies: floaty
Drifts down in wide, lazy loops. A blunt nose and wide wings: floats, and loops wide.
Where it comes from
No known designer: broad wings on a dart’s body, a shape folded in many versions.
Step by step
moves fold here where it ends up
Fold the top left corner to the middle.
And the other one.
Now fold the point down, where the folds end.
Fold it in half along the middle.
Fold the wing down, along the keel.
Turn it over.
And fold the other wing to match.
Open the wings out, level with the keel. Hold it under its middle and throw it gently, straight ahead.
Fly it well
How to throw it
Gently, level or a little upward, and let it go. Its broad wings do the work; thrown hard, it loops or stalls.
If it misbehaves
- Stalls and drops? Flatten the back edges of the wings.
- Sinks quickly? Bend them up a little.
- Drifts to one side? Even up the wings, then bend up the back edge on the other side.
More help
Fix your paper plane: nose-dives, stalls, turns and wobbles, and the bends that trim them out. Or see which plane is best for what you want.
More planes to fold
Suzannethe distance record: glides on and onDartquick and trueArrowslim, fast, dead straightHeavy dartgoes far, sinks fastLoopertight loops, rolls easilyNakamura locksteady, rarely stallsBulldog darta blunt nose: steady and toughHarriera locked nose, pointed wings: steady and quickHammera snub nose, long slim wings: flies far and true