How to make a loop-the-loop paper airplane
Loop-the-Loop Paper Airplane: try all 10 steps in the 3D player. Turn and replay every move. Print the complete diagram sheet or save it as PDF.
An Origami Tutor loop plane with a folded elevator flap on the back of each wing. Thrown up and forward, it climbs, loops over and curves back toward you.
- You need
- One sheet of letter paper (A4 works too). No glue or scissors.
- Start
- Lay a sheet of letter paper in front of you, short edge at the top.
- Tips
- Bend both flaps up by the same amount: an uneven pair turns the plane to one side.
- For a bigger loop, throw it a little harder and more upward; for a gentler curve, bend the flaps down toward flat.
Your model is ready
Hold the body under the nose and throw the plane gently upward and forward to try a loop.
Step-by-step diagrams
- 1
Crease the middle
Fold the paper in half from left to right, crease it, and open it again.
- 2
Fold the left corner in
Fold the top left corner down so the top edge lies along the center crease.
- 3
Fold the right corner in
Fold the top right corner the same way. The top is now a point.
- 4
Fold in half
Fold the plane in half along the center crease, with the corner folds on the outside.
- 5
Fold the first wing down
Fold the top wing down along a line from the nose to a point a little over an inch from the body's fold at the back.
- 6
Fold the first elevator
Fold the back edge of the wing up, about an inch from the edge and straight across.
- 7
Fold the second wing behind
Fold the other wing back along the same line, so it matches the first.
- 8
Fold the second elevator
Fold the back edge of the other wing behind in the same place, so the two flaps match.
- 9
Raise both elevator flaps
Open both folded rear flaps most of the way, leaving each bent up a little above its wing. Keep their angles even.
- 10
Spread both wings
Open both wings away from the keel, carrying their raised elevator flaps with them. Leave a shallow V, with both sides even. Then turn the plane upright, keel below.
- ✓
Finish
Hold the body under the nose and throw the plane gently upward and forward to try a loop.
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