Editing Paper plane (section)

====Origami Flying Wings====
The former [[Guinness Book of Records|Guinness]] world record holder Tim Richardson disagrees with the decision to put a 'tail' on the paper plane. His explanation of paper plane [[aerodynamics]] on his website mentions that the tail is not needed. He uses the real-life [[B-2 Spirit]] [[flying wing]] bomber as an example, stating that the weights along the wing should be put forward in order to stabilize the plane. (Note: paper planes do not need a tail primarily because they typically have a large, thin fuselage, which acts to prevent [[Yaw angle|yaw]], and wings along the entire length, which prevents [[Pitch (flight)|pitch]].)

Independently, Edmond Hui invented a [[Stealth Bomber]]-like paper plane called the Paperang in 1977,<ref>{{cite web|url=http://paperang.com/ |title=Paper Airplane: The World's Best Paper Airplane is the Paperang |publisher=Paperang.com |date=2008-06-04 |access-date=2009-06-22}}</ref> based on hang glider aerodynamics. Uniquely, it has properly controlled airfoil sections, high-aspect-ratio wings, and a construction method designed to allow the builder to vary every aspect of its shape. It was the subject of a book, "Amazing Paper Airplanes" in 1987, and a number of newspaper articles in 1992. It is ineligible for most paper plane competitions due to the use of a staple, but it has extremely high gliding performance exceeding glide ratios of 12 to 1 with good stability.

In 1975, origami artist Michael LaFosse designed a pure origami (one sheet; no cutting, glue or staples...) flying wing, which he named the "Art Deco Wing".<!-- Deleted image removed:  [[Image:Art Deco wing.jpg|right|thumb|300px]]  -->Though its aerodynamic form mimics some hang glider and supersonic airfoils, its invention evolved from exploring the beauty of folded paper first. Its glide ratio and stability are on a par with many of the best paper wing constructions that use glue, tape or staples. This design was first published in 1984 in the book "Wings and Things", by Stephen Weiss, St. Martin's Press.

Although it is a common view that light paper planes go farther than heavy ones, this is considered to be untrue by Blackburn. Blackburn's record-breaking 20-year-old paper plane<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.workman.com/fliersclub/dl_wr_inst.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20000511001435/http://www.workman.com/fliersclub/dl_wr_inst.html |url-status=dead |archive-date=2000-05-11 |title=The Paper Airplane Flight Simulator: Workman Publishing |publisher=Workman.com |access-date=2009-06-22 }}</ref> was based on his belief that the best planes had short wings and are "heavy" at the point of the launch phase in which the thrower throws the paper plane into the air, and at the same time longer wings and a "lighter" weight would allow the paper plane to have better flight times but this cannot be thrown hard with much pressure into the air as a "heavy" weighted launch phase. According to Blackburn, ''"For maximum height and for a good transition to gliding flight, the throw must be within 10 degrees of vertical"'' — which shows that a speed of at least {{convert|60|mph|km/h|abbr=off}} is the amount needed to throw the paper plane successfully.

After the folding there are still gaps between different layers of folded paper (tearoff edge). These and the kinks transversal to the airflow may have a detrimental effect on aerodynamics, especially on the upper side of the wing. In some models the surfaces are not aligned to the direction of flow acting as airbrakes. Typically the center of mass is at 1/81 and the center of area is at 1/2 of the plane lengths. Two methods exist to shift the center of mass to the front. One rolls up the leading edge which then stays unswept. The other uses a swept wing or axial folding to produce something like a fuselage extending out of leading edge of the wing.