Brainspace – July 2019

brainspace SUMMER 2019 39

Arturo Valdenegro, posing with the

giant paper airplane based on his

design.

Thrust:
Thrust is the force that moves an aircraft in a
certain direction. If the plane has enough thrust
and the wings are well designed, the plane will
glide for a longer period of time.

Lift:
Lift is a force that acts on the wings and helps the
plane to move up. The air that flows around the
wings provides lift. Big wings provide greater lift.

Drag:

The tail of the plane creates resistance and slows

the plane down.

Gravity:

Gravity is the force that pulls the plane down. The

right materials can create a lighter aircraft that

stays up longer.

Other factors:

There are other factors that influence how well a

paper airplane flies. The type of paper used can

affect its weight and the amount of friction that

exists. How the plane is designed can also vary

tremendously. Try adding a paper clip to the back

of the plane’s wings.

12-year-old Boy designs world’s

biggest paper plane

At a length of 45 feet (13.7 meters), a wingspan of 24 feet (7.3

m), and a weight of 800 pounds (363 kg), Arturo’s Desert Eagle

is claimed to be the largest paper airplane ever made. Its design

was based on that of a much smaller paper airplane, created by

12-year-old Arturo Valdenegro of Tucson, Arizona. Valdenegro

was the winner of a contest held by the Pima Air & Space Museum,

in which children competed to see whose airplane could fly the

farthest. A team of engineers proceeded to recreate his winning

plane on a grand scale, and managed to fly it after releasing it from

a helicopter over the Arizona desert.

See back

cover for

Brainspace’s

Paper Planes

Contest

details!