Читать книгу The Dangerous Book for Boys - Conn Iggulden - Страница 9

The Greatest Paper Plane in The World

IN THE 1950S, a secondary school headmaster found a boy throwing paper planes from a high window. The head was considering punishments when he noticed the plane was still in the air, flying across the playground below. The boy escaped a detention, but he did have to pass on the design to the schoolmaster – who passed it on to his own children. You will find more complicated designs. You may be sold the idea that the best planes require scissors and lessons in origami. This is nonsense.

The plane on the right – the Harrier – is simple, fast and can be made from a sheet of A4. It is the best long-distance glider you’ll ever see – and with a tweak or two, the best stunt plane. It has even won competitions. One was to clear the entire road from a hotel balcony next to Windsor Castle on New Year’s Eve. Four other planes hit the tarmac – this one sailed clear across. The one on the left – the Bulldog Dart – is a simple dart, a warm-up plane, if you like. It’s a competent glider.

THE BULLDOG DART

1 Fold a sheet of A4 lengthways to get a centre line.

2 Fold two corners into the centre line, as in the picture.

3 Turn the paper over and fold those corners in half, as shown.

4 Fold the pointy nose back on itself to form the snub nose. You might try folding the nose underneath, but both ways work well.

5 Fold the whole plane lengthways, as shown.

6 Finally, fold the wings in half to complete the Bulldog Dart.

Good – now you know a design that really works. You may have noticed the insect-like plane in the middle of the first picture. It does have complicated ‘floats’ and inverse folds. However, it just doesn’t fly very well and neither do most of the overcomplicated designs. We think that matters. Yes, it looks like a locust, but if it nose-dives, what exactly is the point?

Here, then, is the gold standard. It flies.

THE HARRIER

1 Fold in half lengthways to find your centre line and then fold two corners into that line, as shown.

2 Fold that top triangle down, as you see in the picture. It should look like an envelope.

3 Fold in the second set of corners. You should be able to leave a triangular point sticking out.

4 Fold the triangle over the corners to hold them down.

5 Fold in half along the spine, leaving the triangle on the outside, as shown.

6 Finally, fold the wings back on themselves, finding your halfway line carefully. The more care you take to be accurate with these folds, the better the plane will fly.

This plane does well at slower launch speeds. It can stall at high speed, but if you lift one of the flaps slightly at the back, it will swoop and return to your hand or fly in a great spiral. Fiddle with your plane until you are happy with it. Each one will be slightly different and have a character of its own.