There are many paper aeroplane designs and most of them work. Here is one that has stood the test of time.
Paper
Use a normal letter or A4 sheet. Avoid heavy paper – a plane made from card will not fly. White paper is best if you want to decorate it afterwards.
The paper should be about twice as long as it is wide, which is what a standard sheet already is.
Folding it
Fold the sheet in half lengthways and open it out again. That centre crease is the reference for everything else.
Fold the top two corners in to meet the centre crease, making a point at the top.
Fold the new angled edges in to the centre crease again. The point becomes narrower and sharper.
Fold the whole thing in half along the original centre crease, with the folds on the outside.
Fold each wing down so its edge lines up with the bottom edge of the body. Do both sides identically.
Open the wings out flat and it is finished.
What makes one fly well
Symmetry above everything. The two halves must match. A plane that veers persistently to one side almost always has one wing slightly larger or folded at a different angle. Fold on a hard flat surface and press each crease firmly.
Sharp creases. Run a fingernail along each fold. Soft creases let the paper spring open in flight.
Weight at the front. All those folds at the nose are not decoration – they concentrate weight forward, which is what keeps the plane pointing where it is going. A tail-heavy plane stalls and tumbles.
A slight upward angle at the back of the wings. Bending the trailing edges up very slightly gives lift. A little goes a long way; too much makes it climb and stall.
Throwing it
Hold it underneath, near the front where the weight is. Throw smoothly and level, slightly upward – not hard.
Hard throws are the commonest mistake. A paper plane thrown gently glides; thrown with force it climbs, stalls and drops.
Adjusting
If it dives, bend the trailing edges up a little. If it climbs then stalls, bend them down. If it turns consistently one way, check the wings match.
Make small changes and test after each one.
For children
This is a genuinely good activity: free, quick, endlessly repeatable, and it rewards care in a way children can see immediately. Making several and comparing how they fly teaches more about why they work than any explanation.
