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PAPER AIRPLANE RECORDS

What kinds of records are there for paper airplanes? Who has them now? What do you need to do to break them? It seems there’s more to getting a world record than just folding a plane and throwing it hard!

Long Flights Are Lofty Flights

How long do you think it takes for a paper airplane to fly across the room? It might seem long, but it really only takes about two seconds.

If a plane hits the far wall after two seconds in a classroom, how big a room do you need to be able to fly for the half-a-minute needed to break the record? A sports stadium, that’s how big!

Most of us don’t have regular access to that big a venue. So it turns out that most of the records set in recent years have been made as part of a larger event, either a national contest, or a TV show devoted to record breaking.

And how do the record breakers get such long flights? Andy Chip-ling, who wrote the Guinness rules for duration and distance, breaks it down this way: the design of the aircraft is 33%, skill at building it is another 33%, and throwing technique is 33% too. That leaves 1% to unknown chance and the smile of fortune! (Though, more likely, it’s up to humidity.)

The higher the plane starts its glide, the longer it will take to circle down to the floor. So the throw needs to be as close to vertical as possible, for maximum height. And as often as not, the best thrower gets the record.

It takes a lot of practice to get your form just right. At first the planes may crash and crumple. But they’re just paper, so don’t worry—fold up another, and stick with it!

Flight Duration Records Over the Years
1975	15.0 seconds	William Pryor, creating the category as well as the first record
1983	16.9 seconds	Ken Blackburn, on November 29 with his “Old Bossy” design
1987	17.2 seconds	Ken Blackburn, on July 28, as part of a record challenge TV show
1994	18.8 seconds	Ken Blackburn, on February 17, with his “World Record Paper Airplane”
1996	20.9 seconds	Chris Edge, on July 28, with his “White Flyer,” at the very same time as
		Andy Currey, with his “Delta Belter” design, during a national contest
1998	27.6 seconds	Ken Blackburn, on October 8, with the “World Record Paper Airplane”
2009	27.9 seconds	Takuo Toda, on April 11, with his “Sky King” design
2010	29.2 seconds	Takuo Toda, on December 19, with his “Zero Fighter” design
Who will be next? Will it be you?

Getting to Know the Past Record Holders

For many years, the story of the time aloft record was the story of the rivalry between two outstanding pilots: Ken Blackburn and Takuo Toda. But it isn’t a big, dramatic, personal rivalry. It’s more of an endless determination by two superbly talented fliers to become, and remain, the best in the world.

Their planes are very different. Time aloft planes need to have the biggest wings possible while still having enough weight in the front to climb straight up and enough stiffness to survive the throw. Blackburn uses planes that are almost square, with no nose ahead of the leading edge and small triangular wingtip rudders. Toda uses planes with a more pointed nose, a belly-button flap under the wings, and a sturdy lock-fold holding the nose together. And they are much smaller, using only half a sheet of A4 paper. Toda’s planes, first the Sky King, and then the even more specialized Zero Fighter, have caught on with young contenders around the world because they are consistent and easy to adjust.

Blackburn uses ordinary copier paper for his record planes, but Toda uses a special bagasse paper, made from sugar cane pulp, that is exceptionally light and stiff. He tried more than 200 types of paper before finding it, and when he did, he cornered the market. The magic paper is his alone.

Takuo Toda’s “Zero Fighter”

Ken Blackburn’s “World Record Paper Airplane”

Blackburn’s strength has been the training he did. For half a year before each attempt, he would spend an hour a day, six days a week, doing weight training and squats, and then another hour folding and flying airplanes. By contrast, Toda did little more than diet. His planes and his elegant throwing form have made anything more strenuous unnecessary. Blackburn uses brute power, which his plane has to absorb; Toda’s smooth throw accelerates the plane cleanly. It’s the difference between big surf and a tsunami.

Toda’s form

Blackburn’s form

Going the Distance

More than the record for time aloft, the record for the longest distance flown gets at the very nature of what counts as flight. Is a tightly wadded ball of paper a “paper airplane?” Is a twisted screw of paper? Or how about a dart with wings folded so many times they produce no discernable lift? Where do you draw the line?

In fact, though, wads and darts of paper don’t fly as far as a well-designed plane, because they can’t glide to stretch out the flight after the initial speed wears off.

John Collins was sure he had a great airplane. It flew straight and far, and a little tweaking, some very stiff paper and the careful use of tape made it even better. His problem was throwing it. When he put his strength into it, the plane fluttered and crashed. So he got a talented thrower to help him. Joe Ayoob had been a football quarterback. With a bit of training, he could make smooth flights that just ducked under the rafters of the hangar they used. And it was enough: on the day of the record attempt, the design, paper and throw all came together!

Tony Felch used a very thickly folded dart with almost no wings for his flights. But they would probably not pass the “fewer than four rolls” rule in place now. Nor would the cones and twists favored by Red Bull contestants. Stephen Krieger and John Collins both used planes with quite large wings; no doubt that’s the way to go now!

Distance Records Over the Years
1979	140’ 2”	Tony Felch, on August 9
1982	155’ 7”	Eugene Sykes, on February 5
1985	164’ 4”	James Zongker, on March 28
1985	193’ 0”	Tony Felch, on May 21, with his dart-like “Nemesis” design
2003	207’ 4”	Stephen Krieger, on September 6, with his “Avenger” design
2012	226’ 10”	John Collins and Joe Ayoob, on February 26, with Ayoob throwing Collins’ “Suzanne” design
Who will be next? Will it be you?

Stephen Krieger’s “Avenger.” Photo courtesy of John Collins.

John Collins’ “Suzanne.” Photo courtesy of John Collins.