Tiny Jet Card Stock Glider W/ 4th Gen Style

Hello! And would you like to make a jet glider?

This little glider can be made in about 40 minutes. It can fly beyond 25' / 8m when thrown level and with moderate force. Being a very small glider, it should be flown when there is little or no breeze.

Supplies

-beige file folder, cut to a standard size (8.5" x 11" / A4)

or sheet of medium weight card stock (80 lb. / 215 gsm)

or sheet of printer paper and sheet of light card stock (65 lb. / 175 gsm) that are glued together

-scrap piece of white card stock (optional)

-liquid white glue and glue stick

-ruler

-scissors and hobby knife

Step 1: Download & Print

Two jets can be made from a single sheet of material! Download the PDF of the plans and print at 100% scale.

If you can't print directly onto the thick material you've chosen, print onto normal paper and use a photocopier to transfer the plans.

*update* After learning how to make vector files, I bought a used Cricut and did some tests. It works, and has dashed fold lines! Go to the last step for more information.

Step 2: Main Piece

Cut the pieces out very carefully. Scissors will suffice, but a hobby knife and metal ruler are good for some areas; if you are a young person, get permission and help from your parent or guardian before using a hobby knife.

The fuselage, wings, and horizontal stabilizers constitute the main piece (A). It gets reinforced with two braces, the larger (B) attached first and the smaller (A) attached second. Use a glue stick for this. Once the glue has dried enough to prevent the brace from sliding, place the whole thing under a large book and allow it to dry for several minutes.

Step 3: Creases and Wing Contour

Dotted lines need creases. Use a ruler to help make the creases straight and crisp. Start all creases at an angle of just a few degrees, checking to make sure the crease is on the line before pushing it to the needed angle. For the time being, do not crease the parallel lines at the wing roots.

The elevators should be angled up (i.e. have a deflection of) about 7 degrees.

The leading edges of the wings should be angled down approximately 10 degrees at the wing roots, with the angle fading to just a few degrees at the wing tips. If you're having trouble accurately positioning the ruler, try using a strong back light. The trailing edges of the wings should be angled down about 12 degrees at the roots, fading to about 8 at the wing tips. Lastly, pinch along the leading and trailing edges repeatedly with your thumb and finger to round the angles somewhat.

The wing should be slightly dihedral. Relative to a horizontal plane, the wing tips should be raised about three millimeters. It may be the case that the wings curl up as the glue cured, in which case you might just leave the wing roots uncreased.

Step 4: Ventral Braces

If not already done, make creases on the dotted lines of the main ventral brace (D). The piece will be folded over on the center line, and the outer lines will be angled 90 degrees.

The brace has four panels. Apply a thin layer of liquid glue over the either of the two middle panels, then fold over and press them together, being careful to not accidentally glue the outer panels together. Allow to glue to dry for a few minutes.

Use liquid glue to attach the finished brace to the fuselage. The back of it will be flush with the aft end of the fuselage.

Now get the two strips (E) and use a glue stick to attach the narrower of the two on to the top of the wider. Press the layers together. Now glue the pieces to the ventral side of the jet's nose. Allow the glue to bond, then trim the overhanging material.

Step 5: Vertical Stabilizer

Use a very thin bead of liquid glue to attach the vertical stabilizer (F). Monitor it as the glue dries and prevent it from leaning to one side or the other.

Step 6: Canopy & Inspection

If you want a white canopy, trace the canopy piece (G) onto a scrap piece of white card stock. Cut out the piece and use a ruler to make creases on the dotted lines, then push the angles to about 80 degrees.

Apply dots of liquid glue to the sides of the canopy, at the triangular relief cuts. The front section (triangular) of the canopy will be pushed back, and the sides will overlap the back section of the canopy. Push it back until the bottom of the canopy is flat, then pinch the sides of the canopy to lock the angles. Allow the glue to dry and, if needed, trim the bottom of the canopy so it can rest on a flat surface. Attach the canopy to the jet using liquid glue.

Check the glider from front, back, top, and bottom. Look for warps, twists, and other issues. With gentle working and reworking, the card stock will retain a new position or shape.

Step 7: Test Flights

A light breeze to a human is like a gale to this little glider! If possible, test it indoors.

Throw the glider softly and on a level trajectory. Try to be as consistent as possible, and test it several times. If it tends to dive, deflect the elevators up. All adjustments should be tiny.

Use a bit of rudder to counteract a mild turn. Deflecting the rudder to the left will cause the glider to go left, and deflecting it to the right will make it go right. Again, adjustment should be minute.

If attempts to correct a turn with the rudder are unsuccessful, you may need to adjust a wing. Treat the middle trailing edge of each wing as if it were an aileron. Raising the left aileron will help the glider roll left, and lowering it will help it roll right. Adjusting the right aileron will have the opposite effect.

Good luck!

Step 8: Video

This is a build montage and flights of both this jet and its sibling, which has a forward swept wing.

Step 9: Cricut Instructions

Download the vector file from step 1 above. Before you forget, set the material dial on the machine to medium card stock.

With design space open, upload the svg file and add it to your canvas. Make sure the dashed lines are positioned where they should be relative to the shapes. Next, you need to combine the outlines and dashed lines into one cutting operation. At right, lick on the group to highlight all elements, then control+click (or right click) to see a drop-down menu. Select "attach". Find the size control on the top bar, lock the aspect ratio, and change the height to 9.7" / 24.6 cm.

When you click "make it" you should see only one mat on the left side. Load your material on the mat, and cut!