How to Fold Simple Paper Airplanes

Yes, this is a post about simple paper airplanes.  I am always amazed by the number of people I come across that do not know how to fold a boring old paper airplane it comes up more then you would imagine)! The girls are not really old enough to make their own airplanes yet (at least not if they want them to fly), but they do enjoy throwing them! Besides we have already talked about land vehicles and boats this week!

Start with a rectangular sheet of paper. I happened to use construction paper, so ours would be a pretty color.  It is easier with thinner paper though!

Fold the paper in half lengthwise.

Unfold the paper.

Bring one corner of the paper to the center, make a crease.

Bring the second corner to the center, make a crease.

Now bring the crease you just made to the center.

And bring the second crease to the center.

Repeat by again bring the crease to the center.

And again. This is the minimum number of times you have to do it to get an airplane, but the same step can be repeated as much as your paper allows to give you a thinner, faster airplane.

Flip the plane over.

Fold on your center crease, except you will be folding it the opposite way.

What it should look like once you let go of the crease. The fold underneath is where you hold it to launch it.

From the top now. You may have to fluff out the wings to get them to sit straight.

Ready for launch.

Hopefully that all made sense, and you now have a paper airplane. I made 2 more, and these I folded a little smaller.

We took them outside and I asked the girls which one they thought would fly the fastest!

Bria said yellow, and Nadia said purple.  I gave Eli the orange one, so the yellow was fastest! Then Bria wanted the purple one fast, so I refolded it.

They had a lot of fun throwing them and trying to race them.

Unfortunately we also got to learn what happens when a paper airplane gets wet. Since the pool was still up from out Balloon Boats, someone decided his plane needed to fly (or crash) in it.

Of course it was no longer a plane, and he proceeded to shred it in the pool.  The girls still enjoyed their planes though!  Once they are a little older we will have to try some fancier versions, but for now we will stick with simple!