There was a time when every schoolboy knew how to fold a paper airplane. Well, these boys grow up but never leave their childhood hobby.
In 2009, Takuo Toda, (engineer and chairman of Japan Origami Airplane Association) set a new Guinness World Record by having his paper airplane stay afloat for 27.9 seconds. The airplane was made from one sheet of paper with no cuts. See video here.
Previous world record for longest flight was held by Ken Blackburn in 1998: his paper airplane was afloat for 27.6 seconds. Only 0.3 seconds difference - that's close, very close!
It's not just fun and games. Japanese scientist hope to launch paper airplanes from the International Space Station. The chemically treated paper airplanes have been tested in a hypersonic wind tunnel and they have survived Mach 7 speeds and over 400 degrees Fahrenheit. Approximately 30 airplanes, each less than 3 inches long, will travel through space and enter into the Earth's atmosphere and probably land in the oceans. There is no tracking, guidance, or retrieval system. If the paper airplanes survive reentry, it is up to everyday people, like you, to retrieve & return the airplanes to the scientists. Instructions are printed on the airplanes in 10 different languages. See more photos of the airplanes here.
Not a rocket scientists? Not a problem: paper airplane enthusiast Joel Veitch intends to fly a weather balloon straight up for 21 miles. Once there, he will launch 100 paper airplanes each plane will carry a message on a memory card from Samsung.
If Joel's childhood dream comes true, the messages will be carried across the world to anyone. You can submit a message via Joel's web site Project Space Planes. If you happen to find such a paper plane, send him a message because he hopes to set the world record for the furthest paper airplane flight EVER!
If you don't have access to the International Space Station or to a weather balloon, you can still make your airplane soar like never before: you can buy a Powerup kit which will convert your traditional paper airplane into a free flight electric airplane. Electric Conversion Kit available from amazon.com for $20.
Or.... you can get this DIY paper plane launcher which will propel your paper airplane through the air at 30 mph! Not bad for $10. Electric Paper Plane Launcheralso available from amazon.com. They sure are doing a lot of new stuff to the classic paper dart!.
Along the same lines is this interactive art installation by Nova Jiang.
Participants fold their own paper airplane, launch it with a motorized launcher, and hope that the plane passes through the snipping scissors and land within the netting. "Hull Loss" and Jiang's other artwork allows the audience to become performers.
If you love paper airplanes then you will enjoy this art installation composed of many paper airplanes shooting out from a single source. In 2009, artist Dawn Ng, created "i fly like paper". See larger photos from her web site.
Paper airplanes are a classic example of origami in action. They are easy to fold, fun to fly and people can’t resist launching them. Did you know that you can make a different paper airplane everyday? Check out these page-a-day paper airplane calendars.
There are many diagrams for origami airplanes because there are so many ways you can tweak the model to make it look nicer or fly better. Above is a list of diagrams. Below, is a list of web sites which contain even more diagrams! After folding (and launching) a few, why not create your own?
Can't find what you're looking for? Try a Google search:
These paper airplanes are freely available on the internet. If you have a model that you would like to share, or if you see your model here and would like it removed, please Contact Us. Diagrams are intended for personal use. Copyright of the models lie with the origami creators and designers. Please contact the designer and/or creator directly for non-private usage of a model and/or artwork.
It's not just fun and games. Japanese scientist hope to launch paper airplanes from the International Space Station. The chemically treated paper airplanes have been tested in a hypersonic wind tunnel and they have 
available from amazon.com for $20.
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