Introduction: How to Make the Simple Spectre Paper Airplane

By twitter.com/OriAirEnt
About: Paper airplane maker: 400+ designs so far and more in development!

Fast, long range and versatile, the Simple Spectre is a great little paper airplane for aviators looking for an airplane of great performance with very little complication. This level of simplicity and versatility makes it an excellent choice as a trainer or interim airplane.

I designed the Simple Spectre as an aircraft of similar performance to the UltraSpectre, which although popular, was criticized by some aviators, whose desires were for less complicated airplanes. As a response to these desires at the time, I designed the Super Shark. The Super Shark was much simpler than the UltraSpectre, though performance was reduced somewhat. Compared with contemporary instructables at the time of this writing, the Super Shark has not been as popular as later designs. When I saw this low level of success, I began designing a new Spectre variant, based partially on the UltraSpectre. To ease the level of complexity in construction, I reduced the amount of cutting required. After some minor changes, the Simple Spectre was ready.

TAA USAF Designation: A2-12

Step 1: Materials

Required:
1 Piece of 8.5 by 11 inch Paper
Scissors
Tape
Pencil
Ruler

Step 2: Length and Corner Folding

Take your paper and fold it along its length. Then pull the corners in and fold them into the center.

Step 3: Nose and Security Folding

Pull the nose down along the bottom of the corner folds. Then pull the corners into the center. Then open them and fold their inner corners up to the crease. Then fold them back along the crease. Then pull the small triangle that remains over the two folds.

Step 4: Elevator, Wing and Winglet Fold Preparation

Measure 0.75 inches above the center crease along the trailing edge and 0.75 inches in from the winglet. Then measure 0.75 inches beyond the first trailing edge mark. Make a mark, then measure outwards 1 inch and make a mark. From these two mark measure inwards 0.375 inches and mark lines. Cut along these lines.

Step 5: Wing and Winglet Folding

Fold your paper airplane's wing down along the 0.75 inch mark at the bottom of its fuselage. Once both wings are folded down, fold the winglets down along the 0.75 inch mark in from the wingtip.

Step 6: Taping and Elevator Folding

Tape your Simple Spectre at its front and back. Trim its elevators as necessary.

Step 7: Flight

The Simple Spectre is very easy to fly. You may need to execute flight tests to determine necessary elevator trim. Once this is determined, everything else is given. Launch your Simple Spectre at moderate speed and watch as it soars afar quickly. Additional applicable surfaces include ailerons, slats, flaps, flaperons, rudders, air brakes, an EW tail, and a bomb bay. Enjoy!