Correlation Between the Paper Airplane Design and Its Performance

Designing your own airplane template or selecting just the right model from our extensive archive of downloadable designs is a grand task that requires careful thought and consideration.

Here are some points to consider:

Wing size and shape - Wings generate lift; the bigger the wing, the more lift it will generate. A big wing also creates a lot of drag this slows down the airplane. Apply these points to your design for an airplane that fly slowly and does not loose a lot of height during flight.

CG location - Stable airplanes asks for a frontal  Center of Gravity (CG). This is why most of the paper airplanes have a heavy nose with many layers of paper on the front portion of the design. This ensure the Center of Lift (CL) is behind the CG.

The angle of the wing's front - A sharp angle (like the classic Arrow airplane) means that the back half of the wing is way larger than the front half, which takes the CL backward. This can cause the momentum to pitch downward. 

Wing tips - Wing tips are a great method to push forward the CL. For example adding wing tips to the Nakamura will reduce the area on the rear portion of the wing, while leaving the front section unchanged. The CL is moved forward on the design.

Vertical wing - Helps to keep the airplane in a straight flight path. Large vertical wings provide you with a greater directional stabilizer, but it will usually reduce the area of the wing! Make sure to have the right balance between them!