What does it take to make the best paper airplane?

Today we all learned abut paper airplanes. After the research we had a chance to make some. 

Paper air planes originate from ancient China and Japan. Making paper Airplanes is sometimes considered origami. Origami was developed around 450 BCE. Airplanes look like origami. They have found some in ancient places in China and Japan… thrown away. These planes were found in places over 2000 years old. It is thought that the first flying thing made out of paper is a kite in China.

The Wright Brothers used paper air planes to study to make real airplanes. The longest a paper airplane has ever flown was 27.11 seconds.  Thrust and lift are two forces that help a plane make long flight. Thrust is the forward movement of the plane. Lift is when the wing is pushing up on it like the air above it.

To make it fly you need to know aerodynamics. Aerodynamics is the motion of air passing through and around a solid object. A paper airplane has air making it go and air pushing against it.  The air pushing against it is called drag. To make the air plane go farther you have to throw it in the right direction. If the air is pushing against the plane it messes with the plane and if you throw it with the wind pushing it will go farther. To make a paper airplane fly it doesn't take force, it depends on the air/wind.  Airplanes push a lot of air. It also drags through the air. Airplanes thrust and lift. Thrust means it’s the forward movement of the plane. Paper airplanes are really gliders. Lift comes from air below pushing it up. It is harder than air pushing it down. Gravity pulls it down. The four forces must be in balance

To make a good paper airplane you have to have an open imagination.  You could use instructions from a paper plane book.  It can depend on the person with the paper airplanes opinion.  It’s different if the paper plane is a different type.  It could depend on what the plane is good at.  Your plane could also be better at things than others. To make a paper airplane a good one it needs to be, fast, go far, and go where you want it to go.

A paper airplane should be made out of 1 piece of paper. Paper airplanes shouldn’t include staples, glue, tape or paper clips.