How to make a fin jet paper airplane
Fin Jet Paper Airplane: try all 12 steps in the 3D player. Turn and replay every move. Print the complete diagram sheet or save it as PDF.
An Origami Tutor paper jet with broad delta wings starting close behind its pointed nose and a compact upright tail fin. The fin is cut from a small second piece and glued to the tail. Flight performance has not been tested.
- You need
- One sheet of letter paper (A4 works too), a small scrap of paper for the fin, scissors and a glue stick or tape.
- Start
- Lay a sheet of letter paper in front of you, short edge at the top. Keep a small scrap of paper, about 2 × 2 in, beside it for the fin. You will also need scissors and a glue stick.
- Tips
- Press the fin flat against the strip while the glue sets so it stands square.
- If the jet dives, bend the back edges of both wings up a little; if it stalls, flatten them.
Your model is ready
Let the fin's glue dry. Hold the keel under the wings and try a gentle, level launch, keeping both wing angles equal.
Step-by-step diagrams
Steps 1–7
- 1
Cut the left side
Start in the top edge about an inch left of the middle. Cut straight down for an inch and a half, then out and down to a point four inches from the middle and eight and a half inches from the top. Cut straight back in across the wing to the strip, then straight down to the bottom edge. Throw the left scrap away.
- 2
Cut the right side
Cut the right side the same way, the mirror image of the left.
- 3
Crease the middle
Fold the paper in half from left to right, crease it sharply, and open it again.
- 4
Fold the left corner in
Fold the top left corner of the body down so the top edge lies along the center crease.
- 5
Fold the right corner in
Fold the top right corner the same way. The nose is now a point.
- 6
Fold in half
Fold the plane in half along the center crease, with the nose folds on the outside.
- 7
Fold the first wing down
Fold the top wing down along the line where the body strip ends, all the way from the nose to the back.
Steps 8–12
- 8
Fold the second wing behind
Fold the other wing back along the same line, so it matches the first.
- 9
Set the fin on the tail
Lay the fin's foot along the side of the bare tail strip, with the rest of the fin reaching up above the strip.
- 10
Glue the fin
Spread glue on the foot of the fin and press it against the tail strip until it holds. Tape works too.
- 11
Turn the nose toward you
Turn the folded jet halfway round, keeping it flat. The tail is now away from you.
- 12
Spread the wings around the fin
Open both delta wings away from the keel, leaving their tips a little above the roots. Keep the glued tail fin in the middle, upright above the wings. Then turn the plane upright, keel below.
- ✓
Finish
Let the fin's glue dry. Hold the keel under the wings and try a gentle, level launch, keeping both wing angles equal.
Fold next
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