Absolutely, each of you did small aircraft in your childhood - airplanes, helicopters, various weathercocks. At the same time, hardly anyone thought about the fact that the manufacture of paper products is a fairly ancient Japanese art called origami.
That part of this truly fascinating science, which explains how to make a variety
of paper planes (diagrams): a fighter, a bomber, a light glider and many others, is called aerogs. Existing models are so diverse that it is simply not possible to describe and study them all.
Where did the paper airplane come from?
If you set aside the Japanese history of the development of origami and turn your eyes to Europe, you can see that the models of paper airplanes - their schemes remained relevant today - loved to build Leonardo da Vinci. Using parchment, he made one of the first models of an airplane. A little later, the Montgolfier brothers built a paper model of a balloon. By the way, paper luminous lanterns are very popular and today, filled with warm air from a burning candle, they can rise into the air a considerable distance.
The inventor of the first glider models is John Cayley. He made such planes from flax at the beginning of the XVIII century, it was supposed to launch them manually.
Despite the fact that the earliest mention of flying models dates back to 1909, paper crafts are also very popular today. Children, whose schemes are striking in their diversity, begin to add up at the age of 4–5 years, and for some, this hobby remains relevant throughout life.
Glider
One of the fairly simple models that each of you stacked in your childhood is a paper airplane (diagram below) called the “Arrow” or some kind of “Glider”. This model has excellent flight characteristics, and is very simple. Making an airplane out of paper — the diagram in front of you — can be done in just six steps:
- lay a rectangular piece of paper in front of you and fold it in half along the long side (lengthwise);
- bend the corners to the center of the sheet inward, forming an isosceles triangle; try to make the sides as even as possible, the flight characteristics of the product will depend on this;
- bend the resulting structure in width so that from the corner to the bottom edge there are about 2-3 cm;
- fold the isosceles triangle once more, and bend the corner that sticks out from under it, upward, thereby fixing the fuselage;
- flip the resulting structure and bend it in half along;
- bend the wings, make them wider or already at your discretion, how high and easy the airplane will fly will depend on this.
Zilk
This German paper airplane, the scheme of which is also not very difficult, is very maneuverable and has enhanced speed characteristics. This is achieved by combining a light tail and a rather heavy fuselage, as a result, the wind is not a hindrance to him.
Origami paper airplane - Zilka diagram:
- take a rectangular piece of paper and bend it along in half (from right to left), and then straighten it again;
- now do the same from top to bottom, flatten the sheet and bend the top to the middle (in width);
- bend inward the upper corners to the center line, the upper part should look like a truncated pyramid;
- fold the top half in half from top to bottom, while again touching the center line;
- flip the structure with the back to you and fold it in half from right to left;
- bend the top right right corner and straighten again;
- open a right angle and bend it down, while the upper part fold in half back;
- make the right wing - for this, bend the upper sheet to the right obliquely;
- turn the product over and place the second wing;
- spread your wings - the plane is ready for flight.
Delta
Another really flying model. Let's try to make such an airplane out of paper, we have a diagram:
- take a sheet of paper (rectangular) and outline the main horizontal axis;
- leave a small mark in the middle, dividing the sheet vertically;
- divide the left side of the workpiece into 4 equal parts, while bending another 2 lines;
- twist the lower part to the central axis and fix the line to the middle, do the same with the upper half;
- now bend the right side vertically to the middle of the sheet;
- after that, the edge of the workpiece must be bent so as to obtain an angle that starts from the middle of the part and reaches the third bend line (shown in the diagram, Fig. 4);
- fold the other edge in the same way;
- the resulting sharp triangle is bent to the top of the obtuse angle formed by the sides;
- tuck the protruding part of the upper wing into the small pocket that you have;
- bend the workpiece along in half along the center line and begin to form wings.
That's all, the Delta aircraft is ready! Launch!
I would like to add that when implementing this model it is best to use not too thick paper, otherwise it will not work out beautifully and clearly lay the nasal lines, and this may affect the aerodynamic characteristics of the airplane.
Canard
The next paper airplane, the scheme of which is a bit more complicated than the previous ones, is designed for long-distance flights. Its distinctive feature is the ability to beautifully plan and carefully land on the runway.
So, we begin:
- take a piece of paper ( A4 format ), bend it in half lengthwise (from right to left) and then bend it again to its original state;
- bend the upper corners to the center center line, which is clearly visible;
- flip the structure;
- bend the side edges to the center, while the back part does not need to be bent;
- fold the central rhombus in half, from top to bottom;
- bend the top sheet of the central triangle up, laying a fold just below the previous fold;
- bend the resulting product back in half;
- lay the top layer obliquely to the right - it will be a wing; turn the workpiece over and fold the second wing of the plane.
Spread your wings, Canard is ready for flight. Of course, some evil languages say that this model of the plane refers to the flightless, but who prevents you from refuting this statement. Make such an airplane yourself and check.
Little Nicky
To make such an origami airplane out of paper, the scheme is very useful to you, because Little Nicky is not so easy to fold, you need to be very careful. This airplane with a curved wing is very similar to a fighter, it has excellent maneuverability and can develop good speed.
To make this aircraft, you will need a sheet of square paper:
- bend the sheet in half, and then fold the right and left rectangular parts in half, you should get 4 equal parts;
- bend the lower corners to the first folds and outline the fold lines;
- flip the structure and bend the triangles to the center;
- then the lower sharp corner of the figure and turn it down and back so that it touches the upper border of the sheet;
- Now bend the sides to the center;
- turn the product over and push on the top edge of the craft, while pulling the layers out;
- bend the resulting triangle back as shown in the figure;
- fold the airplane in half, bend the wings down;
- bend the edges of the wings and spread the airplane.
That's it, baby Nicky is ready for long-distance travel! Flew!
Another variant
But what if you still can’t fold airplanes, or maybe you just want to try something new?
There is another way to craft paper planes on your own - print out schemes, cut out finished parts and bend along the proposed lines. Collecting such paper models you can get a lot of attack aircraft, fighters and bombers no worse than the real ones, and if there are a lot of them, organize a personal mini-exhibition, which your friends will appreciate.
Here are some simple guidelines:
- if you can’t print a color picture, it’s okay - use a black and white printer, and then color the finished plane;
- if you want to glue a large plane, then take a fairly thick paper, otherwise the parts will deform;
- for a small airplane, as well as for the study of small parts, use thin office paper, it is easier to glue;
- so that the folds are even and accurate, use a metal ruler and a stationery knife ;
- to beautifully round the necessary details, use a simple pencil, draw them along the workpiece until the edges begin to curl;
- it is better to paint over white side sections immediately, otherwise they can ruin the look of the finished model;
- for work, it is better to use a transparent glue of the "Moment" type;
Some tips
From how correctly and accurately you fold your model of an airplane, its flight characteristics depend. Despite the fact that the paper is a fairly light and thin material, a properly folded aircraft has sufficient strength and under certain conditions can retain its shape for a long time.
Do not rush, try to follow the instructions exactly - the more accurately you can repeat the scheme, the better the airplane will turn out.
For a good flight, choose models whose wing area is much larger than the fuselage.
Pay special attention to the tail when working - if they are not folded correctly, the plane will not fly.
Choose models with curved wings, this will help to improve the aerodynamic characteristics of the airplane and increase the flight range.
First flight
All models of paper airplanes, the schemes of which are considered in this article, fly quite well (maybe, with the exception of Canard). However, there are several rules for a successful launch:
- make sure that the plane is folded correctly, in strict accordance with the scheme;
- carefully check how evenly and correctly the wings of the model are deployed;
- launch the plane up, observing an angle of about 40–45˚;
- adjust the launch force, it depends on whether your device will be easy to plan or fly fast enough;
Good luck with your flights, endurance and patience. To make an ordinary airplane out of paper is a simple matter - the main thing is that it be light, original and really know how to fly.