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Paper Airplane Designs

foldnfly.com

171–180 of 218 posts

Re: Paper Airplane Designs

#172
post #100

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Ah, I'm guessing time aloft was the metric?

"Time of flight" only the definition of flight was something like unpowered and untethered off the ground. So floating slowly to the ground becomes "flight" by the definition of the rules.

Wouldn't the burning of the paper technically make it powered?

Re: Paper Airplane Designs

#173

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Paper airplanes are generally symmetrical, which means you can begin by folding the paper in half and using that fold to determine where the nose is. Unless you mean something else?

I'm talking about the leading edge of the wings, where they meet the fuselage. How far up that is from the tip of the nose is often not based on any existing edge or fold.

The fold that separates the "fuselage" from the wing? Not the leading edge (except in one point), but you are right, that is the one where many otherwise non-arbitrary planes make an exception. My favorite designs, front heavy with a decoratively complex leading edge would usually have plenty of potential guidepoints for the fuselage fold though. Good times, bringing up those memories makes me wonder when exactly I stopped.

Re: Paper Airplane Designs

#174
post #9

When I was a child, I had a book with many of these designs. I tested them all from the top of a nearby building's fire escape. My goal was always a long, slow, stable flight and I got the best results with the Square Plane and the Bird. These planes were able to glide all the way across the parking lot (about 120ft estimated using Google Earth imagery.)

I always aimed for (but rarely achieved) a long, slow, stable flight, never had anywhere high enough to test my better attempts. What I'd have given for an empty stadium to test in

https://youtu.be/BV6EP9bBbac

Re: Paper Airplane Designs

#175
post #113
post #52

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Its hard to say. I never did a test where I threw them all and compared distances. I should do this! A lot depends on how accurate your folds are, and how well you tune it by small bends to the wings. This can make a big difference. I would say that "The Buzz" or "V-Wing" probably are the best. Also the classic "Basic Dart" thrown hard is difficult to beat.

There is a ring design that will beat any dart for distance. Particularly when thrown gently from a height where its glide ability can be exploited. https://www.jpl.nasa.gov/edu/teach/activity/ring-wing-glider...

I used to have a paper airplane book and this was one of my favourites.

The other was a plane made with a drinking straw and two paper rings. It always flew really far also!

https://sciencebob.com/the-incredible-hoop-glider/

Re: Paper Airplane Designs

#176
post #41

Imagine my surprise when I'm reading down the HN list like I do every day and I stumble upon my own website. Thats a pretty cool feeling! Im happy to answer any questions people may have. This was my Angular learning project back when Angular just came out. I think Angular ended up being the wrong choice for this project, but it works and I learned Angular, so its all good.

I just wanted to say that your portfolio is amazing [1], and you've had the coolest career ever [2]! I was wondering, are you still the sole developer of Toodledo, or do you have some employees now? I hope this HN bump has been good for Fold N Fly! [1] http://www.jakeo.com/portfolio.php [2] http://www.jakeo.com/about.php

https://www.toodledo.com/info/jobs.php

looks like they are hiring.

Re: Paper Airplane Designs

#177
post #161

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Fun story: when the Soviets tried to reverse-engineer captured B-29s bombers (into Tupolev Tu-4s) they had a lot of trouble because their production of sheet aluminium, rivets, etc. was done in metric sizes, whereas the B-29 used imperial-sized components, and thus extensive re-engineering was required to compensate the slight differences in thickness (and thus in weight and balance) of all components.

I wonder if this justifies the US adherence to the imperial standard - meaning it acts as a basic barrier to entry for other countries who use the "world" standard.

Compatibility usually gains you more than you lose. If you can't make US planes with parts from the rest of the world then that does mean other countries can't make US planes, but that also means that the US manufacturers can't import parts from elsewhere.

Re: Paper Airplane Designs

#178
post #41

Imagine my surprise when I'm reading down the HN list like I do every day and I stumble upon my own website. Thats a pretty cool feeling! Im happy to answer any questions people may have. This was my Angular learning project back when Angular just came out. I think Angular ended up being the wrong choice for this project, but it works and I learned Angular, so its all good.

Am I correct to assume all the designs are for US Letter paper? (And not the A4 size common in the UK and elsewhere. http://betweenborders.com/wordsmithing/a4-vs-us-letter/ ) I remember the frustration as kid getting a book of designs from the US and having none of them work quite right.

Thanks for mentioning it here. I would have wasted a lot of time wondering why these designs didnt work as expected.

Re: Paper Airplane Designs

#179
post #161

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I wonder if this justifies the US adherence to the imperial standard - meaning it acts as a basic barrier to entry for other countries who use the "world" standard.

sort of like the use of analog comms on the Galactica right?

Try making a paper airplane with Galactica’s octagonal sheets of paper!

Re: Paper Airplane Designs

#180
post #85
post #41

Imagine my surprise when I'm reading down the HN list like I do every day and I stumble upon my own website. Thats a pretty cool feeling! Im happy to answer any questions people may have. This was my Angular learning project back when Angular just came out. I think Angular ended up being the wrong choice for this project, but it works and I learned Angular, so its all good.

Hey, what do you think of Greatest Paper Airplanes? https://classicreload.com/win3x-greatest-paper-airplanes.htm... Do you plan on doing something like that with your website?

A Demo of the gameplay for the ones too lazy. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kx2cHmkqWZ4

I remember playing this with my dad and having it installed for a birthday party. Fun times.

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