What Makes the Best Paper Airplane?

Noah

Question

What makes the best paper airplane? I like to make paper airplanes and always wondered what the best way to make one would be. Would the wing design, nose shape, weight, size and/or material affect the distance a paper airplane would fly?

• • 1. Conclusion

    2. What I learned from this experiment is that the air can catch bigger objects. I learned this because the two foot airplane flew the farthest. My hypothesis was mostly correct except for the size. I guessed that the twelve inch paper airplane would be the best because it is used in a classic paper airplane design. My project would be better if I had a way to ensure an even launch. In all other ways, my experiment was accurate. What Makes the Best Paper Airplane?

    3. Paper airplanes are one of the most famous types of origami. Many people think about what paper airplane will go the farthest, so I tested this. I used many variables to find this. They were how the wings were placed, noses, weights, size, and materials. My hypothesis was a paper airplane with straight wings, a right triangle nose, no weights, and a foot of printer paper would fly the best because this is a classic paper airplane.

    4. First, I made four classic airplanes. I moved their wings to high, regular, low, and mixed. I launched my planes by hand, taking care to use the same force and angle each time. When I was done throwing it I measured. Next, I made one classic paper airplane and two with out the nose step. One without the nose, I cut into a circle. Then, I threw and measured. After that, I tried weights. I made four classic airplanes and put one weight on the left of one, the right of one, and one had weights on both wings. I threw and measured them. Later, I tried size. I made three paper airplanes out of six inch paper, one foot paper, and two foot paper. I threw these and measured them. Lastly, I made three classic paper airplanes out of tissue paper, printer paper, and construction paper at the size of a tissue. Then, I threw and measured them.

    5. The results were very close to my hypothesis. An average paper airplane goes about 3.2 meters. Leading the wings category was straight wings at 3 meters. The best nose was the right angle at 3.1 meters. The best kind of weights is no weights at 3.7846 meters. The size for a paper airplane is two feet at 5.3. The best material for a paper airplane is printer paper at 1.5 meters.

    6. What I learned from this experiment is that the air can catch bigger things. I learned this because the two foot airplane did the best. My hypothesis was mostly correct except for the size. I guessed that the twelve inch paper airplane would be the best because it is used in a classic paper airplane. My project would be better if I had a better way of throwing so it was even. Otherwise, my experiment was fine.