Batwing Card Stock Glider

Some DC movies have popped up on YouTube recently. These were a reminder of how much I loved the Batman animated series from the '90s, as well as the 1989 live-action film. Let's make a Batwing!

With so many unusual shapes, this glider requires a lot of precision to build and can be difficult to fly. Experience with paper crafts, balsa gliders, RC airplanes, or some such hobby is recommended.

Development of this glider was long. Early prototypes had a fairly traditional wing. I bounced between that and a more dramatic wing shape. Getting poor results, I was about to give up on the latter, but remembered an RC Batwing I had seen at some point. I watched the video and it seemed to have a lot of stability even at low power. I had to keep trying. In the end, it flies better than the versions with the tapered wing.

You will need access to a printer that can handle card stock, or an automated cutting machine (such as a Cricut). You will also need...

-medium card stock (80 lb. / 215 gsm; often sold in 12"x12" squares)

or beige file folder

-large steel paper clip (approx. 48 mm / 1 7/8")

-liquid white glue (PVA); glue stick if desired

-ruler

-scissors

-pliers or other tool to cut paper clip

If using the PDF file, you will need a machine that can handle card stock, such as a commercial photocopier with a bypass tray. Cut your material to a standard size (8.5" x 11" or A4). To avoid wasting material, it's good to do a test print on regular white paper. Print at 100% scale.

Multiple colors can be used, of course. I cut an entire set of blue and grey pieces, then traced the canopy and wingtip pieces on scraps of card stock, white and yellow.

Beige file folders vary in thickness, but are usually a bit lighter than medium card stock. That's great if you want to color the material, just make sure you don't saturate it and cause it to wrinkle.

Cut out the pieces slowly and carefully. Precision really counts!

If using the vector file, import it into the workspace of your cutting machine. Combine the layers (in Cricut, right click or control+click the top layer and select attach). Set the height to 4" / 5.1 cm.

Apply a thin, consistent layer of glue to the main brace (B) and attach it to the top of the main piece (A). This is now the dorsal side of the glider. Next, attach the tail key (C), flush with the aft end of B. Add the triangular wing tips (D), leaving a gap between of about 1 mm between them and the main brace.

Start by cutting paper clip pieces to use as nose ballast. These are 2 cm and 3 cm. On the longer piece, make a kink of about 5 degrees at 1 cm from an end.

Get the ventral fuselage pieces (E) and add a bead of liquid glue of 3 cm to one of them, starting at tip of the larger end of the piece (the nose). Set the longer piece of paper clip in the glue and leave it alone as you work on the next step. Make sure the kink in the paper clip matches the edge of the fuselage piece.

Establish creases on the dashed lines of the canopy (F), and push the angles to about 90 degrees. At the relief cuts, the front half of the canopy will overlap the back half slightly. Two dabs of liquid glue are needed at those points. Once the canopy is in the shape you want, pinch the sides to set a bond at the overlaps.

Use a ruler to establish creases on the dashed lines of the ventral fuselage pieces (E), and make angles of 90 degrees. Apply glue to the larger section of each piece. Align and press them together, then apply glue to the smaller sections (or tabs) and along the spine. Attach the piece to the bottom of the main piece.

Pay special attention to the angle of the nose, as viewed from the side. Do not allow a gap. Pinch down until the glue bonds the main piece to the ventral fuselage.

Apply glue to the ventral nose braces (G) and attach them. They match the outline of the horns-head-neck area. Apply glue to the side nose braces (H) and attach them; these are not quite flush with the outline of the fuselage.

Make two marks on the dorsal side of the glider, on the center line. The first will be 14 mm back from the small recess of the nose (i.e., the top of the head), and the second at 17 mm back. From the mark at 17 mm, lay down a bead of glue 2 cm long, moving toward the tail. Place the shorter piece of paper clip in the glue and wait a couple of minutes.

Apply glue a bit of glue around the bottom interior edge of the canopy. Carefully set it in place, the front meeting the mark at 14 mm. Be sure the canopy is centered.

Make creases on the dashed lines of the fins (I), then deflect each ruddervator up by about 7 degrees. Apply a liberal amount of glue to the bottom edge of a fin and set it in place vertically, with the front of the fin abutting the notch in the tail key. Make sure the fin is parallel with the center line of the glider. Let the glue set up for a minute or so, then attach the second fin. Wait another few minutes, then start gently pushing the tip of each fin down to opposing 45-degree angles. Place the glider on some sort of makeshift stand (such as 6-sided dice under the wings) and use glue bottles or other objects to prop up the fins as the glue cures.

Give the sides of the nose area, and the horns, a subtle downward fade by rubbing a pen or marker, held at an angle, along the edges, or by simply pinching along the edges.

Blunt the leading edges of the wings slightly. Pinch along them, starting at the wing roots and working toward the wing tips. The downward angle should be about five degrees at the wing roots, but only a couple of degrees at the wing tips. Do the same to the trailing edges, starting at the wing roots again, but make the curl a bit deeper into the wing. All of this is to camber the wing surface, which should help produce lift, will strengthen the wing along its span, and gives the wing some visual dimension.

Next, make the wing dihedral. Use a ruler to set creases on the dashed lines at the wing roots, and raise each wing tip about 3 degrees above horizontal.

Check your Batwing from all sides. How is the symmetry? Fix warps and other flaws by working the material between your fingers until it remembers the new angle or contour that you want.

To test the glider, find a dry grassy area at a time when the breeze is non-existent. Throw it straight and level, with moderate force. A consistent throw is important. Also, all adjustments to the control surfaces must be tiny!

If the glider tends to pitch up, decrease the deflection of both ruddervators equally. Alternatively, you could decrease the curl of the trailing edge of both wings equally, particularly at the median points. If the glider tends to pitch down, make the opposite adjustment

If it turns gently to the right, raise the deflection of the left ruddervator. Alternatively, lower the deflection of the right ruddervator. Again, make only tiny and incremental adjustments. If the ruddervators do not seem to help, the wings might lack symmetry. Inspect them carefully and do your best to make them mirror images of each other.

If you made it this far, I hope your Batwing is looking great and that you're having fun with it.

Enjoy!