How to make a winglet paper airplane
Winglet 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 glider with upturned winglets: a long nose, tapered wings and a small panel standing straight up at each wingtip, cut from one sheet turned sideways.
- You need
- One sheet of letter paper (A4 works too) and scissors.
- Start
- Lay a sheet of letter paper in front of you, long edge at the top. You will also need scissors.
- Tips
- Make the two winglets the same height and square to the wing.
- If it dives, bend the back edges of both wings up a little; if it stalls, flatten them.
Your model is ready
Hold the keel under the wings and try a gentle, level launch. Keep both winglets upright and the left and right sides even.
Step-by-step diagrams
- 1
Cut the left side
Start in the top edge an inch left of the middle. Cut straight down for two and a quarter inches, then out and down toward the left edge, stopping about three quarters of an inch from it. Cut straight down for two and a half inches, then in and down to the bottom edge, an inch left of the middle. 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 first winglet
Fold the outer inch of the wing back over it along a line parallel to the wing's fold.
- 7
Fold the second wing behind
Fold the other wing back along the same line as the first.
- 8
Fold the second winglet
Fold the outer inch of the back wing behind along the same line as the first, so the two match.
- 9
Open both winglets
Open the two narrow tip panels a quarter turn, leaving each at a right angle to its wing. Keep their heights even.
- 10
Spread the glider wings
Open both main wings away from the narrow keel, carrying their upright winglets with them. Leave a shallow V with the tips a little above the roots. Then turn the plane upright, keel below.
- ✓
Finish
Hold the keel under the wings and try a gentle, level launch. Keep both winglets upright and the left and right sides even.
Fold next
Paper airplane ↗
The classic dart: a sheet of letter paper, a sharp nose and two wings, ready to fly across the room.
Easy paper airplane ↗
An Origami Tutor paper airplane with the fewest folds: two corners, one fold in half and two wings. A good first plane for kids, with broad wings that glide gently.
Paper glider ↗
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Distance dart ↗
An Origami Tutor distance dart: a slim dart whose point is folded down to lock the nose folds, so the weight sits up front and the nose stays shut on a hard, long throw.