Folding Instructions

Any 8 ½ by 11 sheet of copier or typewriter paper will work for these airplane.

My personal favourite is 20 pound copier paper that has been copied onto once.

Most photocopiers have a heat process that stiffens the paper just a little, helping the sheet hold a crease.

Always fold accurately and crisply; this can not be stressed enough.

Small errors is preliminary stages get amplified in the finished airplane.

Sharp creases are easier to manipulate or reverse direction.

Look at the seep you are on and the next step.

This will show you what to fold and how it looks after folding.

It is also important to remember that no matter how complicated the drawing look, it boils down to valley folds and mountain folds.

A valley fold looks like a valley when viewed from above; a mountain fold looks like a mountain when viewed from above.

When folding a single layer (like folding a page in half), a mountain fold is a diagramming convenience.

It is easier to flip the paper face down, make a valley fold, and then flip the paper back to it is original face-up position.

This will create a mountain fold.

More complex moves-squashes, reverses, or petal folds-require manipulating more than one layer at a time.

That is why I’ve provided a new way to learn them.

The flip-through animation shows these moves actually happening.

All you need to do is flip through the book where indicated in the table of contents and watch the action.

The animations should be thought of as the generic case.

Squashes or reverses can look different when used in different ways.

Similarly, I’ve invented several water bomb-like bases.

The water bomb base in the animation shows the classic case.

I’ve expanded the triangle to a trapezoid for the stinger, shortened the top layer for the Interlock, and turned it upside down for the Headstand lender.

Avoid RAT (Right about There) Folding unless indicated.

Every fold made has a specific reference point.

RAT folding will produce unrepeatable results.

This is particularly important to remember when you use some of these ideas to start creating your own aircraft.

Good luck and good flying.



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