About the Suzanne
Designed by John Collins and named after his wife, Suzanne. In February 2012 Joe Ayoob threw one 69.14 m (226 ft 10 in), the farthest paper plane flight until 2022.
Paper Plane Academy › Floaty
How to fold Suzanne
The distance record: glides on and on. 10 folds from a plain sheet, a little fiddly. Drag the red corner along its arrow, or press Fold.
- Distance
- Long glides
Fold it alongStep by stepFly it wellPrint it
There it goes: the suzanne 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. The distance record plane: broad wings that glide on and on.
Where it comes from
John M. Collins, “the Paper Airplane Guy”, an aircraft designer who folds paper planes. Its instructions are in his The New World Champion Paper Airplane Book (2013). He folds it from A4; on US Letter, he trims 19 mm off the width first so the sheet has A4’s shape. His record plane also carries ten thin strips of tape, and its wing angles are set with paper gauges. Ours follows his folds on a plain sheet of A4, without the tape or the gauges: his design, though not the record plane exactly.
Sources: Make: John Collins’s own instructions · Guinness World Records · Penguin: The New World Champion Paper Airplane Book · Mental FlossStep by step
moves fold here where it ends up
Fold the left edge in, to lie along the line from the top right corner.
And the right edge, over the top of it.
Fold the top down, where the two edges cross.
The top corners to the middle.
And the other one.
Turn it over.
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
For a long glide, a smooth, firm throw, level or a little upward. For distance, throw it harder and higher, and trim it flat so it glides on instead of stalling.
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.
Watch it folded
How to fold the world record paper airplaneJohn Collins, The Paper Airplane Guy, on YouTubeSuzanne, folded by the man who designed her.More planes to fold
Gliderfloaty, wide loopsDartquick 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