Hello there! Today I am going to teach those who would like to know how to make a basic paper airplane.

Materials: 8 1/2 by 10 1/2 or 8 1/2 by 11 binder paper OR 8 1/2 by 11 copy/printer paper (*Binder is recommended best due to it being lighter, and it will flow better in flight)

Time to make: 1-2 minutes

Safety Warnings: NONE! Haha just watch out for paper cuts!

Step 1: First Fold - Calendar Flipping

The first thing to do is lay out the paper flat, facing vertically, or as people generally like to call it, “long ways.” Next, fold the paper in half from top to bottom, allowing the top and bottom to meet and touch, then crease it when perfectly aligned. After creasing it, open it back up as if it were flat again, making sure it is faced vertically. I always think of this fold as flipping up a calendar page.

Step 2: Second Fold - Book Flipping

After opening up the paper from the first fold and meeting the top and bottom parts of the paper, next you will fold the sides in half. For example, pretend you are flipping the pages of a book. Meet the edges and make sure they match, then crease the paper. After making the crease, open up the paper so it is flat again.

Step 3: Third Fold - Roof Building

The next thing you would have to do is make sure your paper is still facing vertically. Now meet the top right corner and fold it to the middle line, like a dog’s flappy ear. Do the same to the top left corner, and it should look like the picture above. Kinda looks like the roof of a house right?

Step 4: Fourth Fold - the Unsealed Envelope

After folding the corners, all you have to do is fold over the top half of the paper with the folded corners, over the bottom half. This fold should be easy because you’re simply using the first horizontal line and folding it over to touch the bottom edge again, just like the first fold in step one. (Refer back if needed)

Step 5: Fifth Fold - Triangle Formation

Just like step 3, with the triangle’s main vertice pointing downward at your stomach, fold over the top two corners to match up and meet with the creased line in the middle of the paper. (Refer to step 3) The paper shall now look like a triangle in its entirety.

Step 6: Sixth Fold - Triangle Within a Triangle

After step 5, you might notice there is a small triangle pointing downwards, opposite of the other triangle. With that little triangle, fold it upwards, so it is similar to the larger triangle you formed. Should look like picture above.

Step 7: Seventh Fold - Is It a Bird or Is It a Plane?

When you finish folding the small triangle within the bigger triangle, you may notice the middle has an opening. For this to work, you must fold down the two sides so that the middle opens up as the crease. After this fold, the small triangle should be visible. See pictures for clarity.

Step 8: Eighth Fold/LAST FOLD!! - a Dart? Final Product

Once you fold the paper to look like the first picture (can be seen as a bird with its wings flapped or an airplane), then you have to fold the wings themselves in half. To do this, you take the free end of each wing and fold it over the middle where it was already folded at the beginning of this step. When the edges match, crease the paper, then see your paper airplane form!