Q: What is the Best Paper for Folding an Airplane?

There three parameters about paper you have to consider:

• Size
• Weight
• Brand

Size:

We plan and diagram all our templates to A4 and US Letter sizes.

US Letter is a paper size for office use. It is the most common type in America. It measures 8.5 by 11 inches (215.9 mm x 279.4 mm).

A4 is common in the rest of the world. It measures 210 by 297 cm (8.27 by 11.7 inches). All A proportioned papers have the same aspect ratio, . This ratio has the unique property that when cut or folded in half widthwise, the halves also have the same aspect ratio.

Weight:

We recommend to use 80 to 100 GSM.

Paper weight is measured by GSM  (Grams per Square Meter) meaning if you take a square sheet of paper, with a length and width of one meter, this is its weight.

Normal printing paper is 80-90 GSM, so a single sheet (from both formats of paper size) weights around 5 grams. 

Lighter paper may be better (less weight will allow easier climb for the plane) but the shortcoming is the lower stiffness you get.

Heavier paper is more durable, but the extra weight is a burden on the small engine and could reduce flight times.

Brand:

If its good enough for your printer, its good enough for your paper airplane. For our printed Templates we use A4 and US Letter as well as Tyvek, a water resistant paper.