How to make a forward-swept wing paper airplane
Forward-Swept Wing Paper Airplane: try all 7 steps in the 3D player. Turn and replay every move. Print the complete diagram sheet or save it as PDF.
An Origami Tutor forward-swept paper airplane: a long, slim nose and wings set far back whose tips reach forward of their roots. Cut from one sheet and opened above a narrow keel. Flight performance has not been tested.
- You need
- One sheet of letter paper (A4 works too) and scissors.
- Start
- Lay a sheet of letter paper in front of you, short edge at the top. You will also need scissors.
- Tips
- Cut both wings to the same shape: a plane with one wing shorter rolls toward it.
- The nose is long and light. If the plane stalls, clip a small paper clip to the nose.
Your model is ready
Hold the keel under the wings and try a gentle, level launch. Adjust the two wings equally.
Step-by-step diagrams
- 1
Cut the left side
Start in the top edge about an inch left of the middle. Cut straight down for six and a half inches. Turn left and cut up and out toward the top left corner, stopping a quarter inch from the left edge. Cut straight down for three inches, then back in and down to the strip, ending an inch and a quarter above the bottom edge. Finish by cutting 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 in half
Fold the plane in half along the center crease.
- 5
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.
- 6
Fold the second wing behind
Fold the other wing back along the same line, so it matches the first.
- 7
Spread the forward-swept wings
Open both wings away from the narrow keel. Keep their tips ahead of the roots and a little higher, leaving the left and right sides even. Then turn the plane upright, keel below.
- ✓
Finish
Hold the keel under the wings and try a gentle, level launch. Adjust the two wings equally.
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