Transcript Document

Zac Klenske
Flight is a wonderful and intriguing thing, but until the
Wright brothers came along, no one really knew too
much about how it worked. Now, flight is familiar to
almost everyone, but sight of something soaring through
the air is still thrilling. Because planes are expensive
and quite dangerous in the hands of everyone who isn’t
a pilot, we have to content ourselves with flight
simulators and paper airplanes. Paper airplanes are
cheap, simple, fun, and easy to make, which makes
them far better than flight simulators. With thousands of
models to make, there is no end to the fun you can
have.
This booklet will lead you through the process of making
one of these models, the Nakamura Lock. Although the
name might sound intimidating, the Nakamura Lock is
one of the easiest paper airplanes to make. A blunted
nose prevents the point from being bent too easily and
wide wings provide a stable flight.
This particular plane was
invented by the Japanese.
It is named after its
inventor Eiji Nakamura, a
famous origami artist.3
History Lesson
Although, no one knows exactly when paper airplanes first took flight, the Chinese are
given credit for conquering paper flight first. They were the first to invent paper and were
avid kite enthusiests, which are made of similar materials. Also, if you were to add a
couple of supports and tie some string, a paper airplane would make a decent kite. Many
also atribute the invention to the Japanese because of its similarities to origami.3
However the invention of paper airplanes came about, by the beginning of the Second
World War, paper models were popular enough in the United States to be sold on the
back of cereal boxes.1
What You Will Need
When building this plane (and most other planes), use standard 8.5” x 11” sheet size.
One of the greatest parts about building paper airplanes is that you can use whatever type
of paper you have available. Lighter paper will allow for easier folds, but heavier will make
the plane more stable when flying. You will also need a flat, hard surface to make folds
on.
Step 1
Fold the paper in half using the Center
Line. Unfold the paper.
Then, fold the top two corners to the
line running down the center to make
the diagonal creases. This will match
up the three yellow lines.
Use your fingernail or the
egde of a heavy book to
make creases sharp and
crisp.
Throughout the entire process, it is
important to keep the plane
symmetrical. This can be done by
making folds as accurate as possible.
Center
Line
After
Step 2
Fold the blue crease as shown by
pulling the top point down.
Line up the tip of the triangle with the
vertical center line made in Step 1
Step 3
Form a small trianglular tab by folding just the tip of
the larger triangle up. The tab should be no bigger
than the width of your finger (as shown in the
picture). Unfold the tab.
This fold will hold the
plane together at the
end of the process.
Step 4
Take the top-left and top-right corners and make the creases
shown by the blue lines. These creases are not aligned with the
center line. When the folds are done, all the corners (yellow
dots) should be roughly in the same place.
top-left
The top corners can be slightly above
the dotted intersection to avoid
wrinkling the paper.
center
line
The dotted lines forming a cross show
the creases made from the vertical
center line and the triangular tab from
the previous step.
top-right
Step 5
Push the two corners down and fold the triangular tab over them;
it should hold down the two upper folds made in the previous step.
If you mess up a fold, it is
usually easier to start over
than trying to repair or
recrease a fold. This
airplane doesn’t take that
long to make, so it won’t set
you back that far.
Step 6
Using the vertical center line from the first step, fold it in half, using the blue line
as a guide. The tab should be on the outside.
Keep the tab folded
over the two corners
from the previous
step) while doing
this.
After
Step 7
This view is rotated from the last
view.
Fold down one of the flaps at the
blue crease, placing the yellow
lines on top of each other.
Do the same for the other side.
It is important in this step to
make the wings of both sides
the same.
Step 8
Unfold the wings and take a step back.
You are now done folding the Nakamura
Lock. Hopefully, it looks like the image
to the left. Now all that is left is to find a
suitable flight plan . . .
Don’t throw the plane too hard, the
Nakamura Lock flies best under a
smooth and light toss.
Watch out for
paper missiles!
front
It should be fairly obvious what to do next, but
if you are having issues, look at the picture to
the left.
grab
here
If you already have it figured out, then it’s time to choose a target.
Acceptable Targets: trash cans, posters, the wild blue yonder, outer space (if you
can throw that far), etc.
Unacceptable Targets: small woodland animals, children, your roommate’s eye
(the front end may be blunt, but so are bullets)
If your plane is having problems with keeping a steady course, then turn to the
next page.
Wild Blue Yonder
Unfortunately, paper airplanes are made of . . . paper. Even the slightest breeze can
send them off course. More importantly, any error made during the production of your
plane can have dire consequences for the hypothetical pilot of your aircraft. It’s
almost impossible to make a perfect paper airplane, but there is hope. By making
slight adjustments, you can make your imperfect plane fly straight and true or perform
death-defying
(or inviting) spins.
The Adjustments
All adjustments can be made (at least for
this plane) from the back end of the plane
by bending or curling (not creasing) the
tips at the back up or down
Both tips up = plane goes up
Both tips down = plane goes down
Opposite directions = plane spins or “corkscrews”
If your plane is turning to the right too much,
curl the left tip up or the right tip down. Do the
opposite for turning too much to the left.
Works Cited
1.
Bob. (2008). Paper Airplane History. Retrieved March 5, 2009, from Paper
Airplane Web site: http://www.paperplane.org/History/history.html
2.
Collins, J. Fantastic flight. California: Ten Speed Press, 2004.
3.
Gray, S. (2008). Paper Airplane History. Retrieved March 9, 2009 from
Easy Paper Airplanes Web site: http://www.easy-paperairplanes.com/paper-airplane-history.htm