Paper airplane par excellence

Monday, February 6, 2017 - 17:01 in Physics & Chemistry

It’s the rare lesson that floats right into the classroom. Case in point: John Collins’ exceptional paper airplane. On Wednesday, Collins brought his world-record design — along with enthusiasm and a couple of boxes of planes — to the Graduate School of Design (GSD). Collins, whose plane set the 226-foot record for distance in 2012, offered a workshop that used paper airplanes as a teaching tool. He talked to a group of students about making the planes, including design, goals, and materials. As he outlined the process, he encouraged students to engage in behavior that would have gotten their high school selves sent to the principal’s office: making and flying paper airplanes in class. “When thinking about design solutions, it has to work,” Collins said. “If you can wad up a piece of paper and throw it farther than your paper airplane, your plane sucks.” Folding the world record paper plane Collins’ talk...

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