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PAPER AIRPLANE EXPLORATION. FIRST YOU LEARN, NEXT YOU DESIGN, THEN YOU BUILD, AND EVENTUALLY YOU FLY!. I'm Ken Blackburn, and I hold the Guinness record for time aloft for paper airplanes.
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PAPER AIRPLANE EXPLORATION FIRST YOU LEARN, NEXT YOU DESIGN, THEN YOU BUILD, AND EVENTUALLY YOU FLY!
I'm Ken Blackburn, and I hold the Guinness record for time aloft for paper airplanes. • I first set the record in 1983 (16.89 seconds), resetting it in 1987 (17.2 sec), 1994 (18.8 sec) lost the record in 1996 • I set the current record of 27.6 seconds on 10/8/98 in the Georgia Dome.
HOW TO SET A RECORD • My plan was to construct from 5 to 10 planes a week, initially trying radical changes, progressively narrowing in on the best paper airplane design. • I hurt my shoulder from throwing too rapidly. So I switched back and forth between workouts in the gym, and workouts throwing planes. • I had the most luck with my original design that I had invented as a 13 year old kid.
HOW TO MAKE IT FLY BETTER • First- its real important to keep the wing as flat as possible, so I would press the side of a pen against every fold as the plane is made in order to keep the folds as flat as possible. • Second- I tried making the folds a little wider and narrower until I found just the right width – this determines exactly where the plane balances. • Third- I "prefolded" the paper in a pattern to add crease marks on the wing.
HOW MANY PLANES TO MAKE? • In reality every paper airplane flies differently. • Out of 100 planes perhaps 50 fly over 16 seconds, 20 over 18 seconds, and 5 over 20 seconds. • That is why I needed to make several hundred planes, not only to improve the design, but to find the best airplane using the best design.
HINTS! • As many people know, the dimples on a golf ball reduce the drag of the golf ball, and these creases served the same function. • Tupperware makes a great waterproof, crushproof, paper airplane hanger