Paper airplanes cover

Paper airplanes

by Nick Robinson

Set your imagination flying —with 40 different types of paper airplanes that range from super simple to sophisticated. There's no need for glue, scissors, or tape, just follow the directions on choosing and folding the paper, and use the principles of flight to get to great results. Start with some classic designs: the dart, the basic glider, a gliding toy, and the sturdy hawk dart. Try something modern, like the carnard glider, which has stabilizers on the front to create extra lift. For something extra-acrobatic, make the stunt plane: it will loop the loop, and even return to you after you launch it! A bomber, which requires more complex folds, has elegant lines. The snub-nosed Delta is a variation on the hawk dart, with an easier-to-construct nose cone. And a sweptback wing airplane, a modification on an award-winning original, has a wide tail section. Other high-flying choices you can create: the boxoid, which riqueres accurate folding but then won't come apart; the birdlike Delta glider; and the kendal flier, which uses the energy of a stretched elastic band. When you're up to it, take a short at the Chasseur (or hunter). It's the most difficult project in the book, and resembles both the American and Russian fighter-bombers. Includes stunning color photographs of the finished planes, plus detailed diagrams and hints on really making them soar. Have a good flight...

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Chappie’s discussion starters

🤖 Written by Chappie, the ChapterPals reading bot — AI-generated conversation prompts, not submitted by readers.

  1. Which character stayed with you after you turned the last page, and why?
  2. Was there a moment where you disagreed with a character’s choice? What would you have done?
  3. What theme did this book keep circling back to — and did it earn its ending?
  4. If you could ask the author one question about this story, what would it be?
  5. Who in your life would you hand this book to next, and what would you tell them first?