How to Make the Delta-Fighter Paper Plane

The Delta-Fighter is not only a cool and sleek paper airplane, it is also very fast and agile which allows it to do maneuvers like loops, rolls, and banked turns.

This is an instructable entry for the Paper Airplane Challenge 1

1 Piece of 8.5 x 11 inch Paper
Ruler
Tape
Pencil

Fold the paper in half Length-wise to create a center-line, then unfold.

Take the right or left corner to the paper and fold it to the length of the opposite side. Then repeat with the inverse arrangement. Flip, then pull the front down to make a doubled layer. Flip back over, then using all of the pre-folds made earlier, start to remake the X Fold allowing the paper to collapse into a triangle.

Lift one layer of the triangle over to the other side. Fold the longest flap into the center line, then fold the flap on the other side in. Now fold the shortest flap over and repeat the whole thing to the other side.

fold one inside flap over and mark 2 1/4 in. from the tip of the plane and at the end of the leading edge. fold the flap out using these marks. Now mark 3/8 in. from the tip of the wing, and 1 3/8 in. from the tip of the plane. make a fold from the 1 3/8 in. mark and so the leading edge of the flap is at the wingtip mark. repeat to the other side.

fold the plane in half along the centerline. mark 2 in. from the front, and mark 3/4 in. in the back. mountain fold between the two marks, then repeat to the other side (sink fold). mark 3/8 in. in the upper back part of the fuselage. fold from this mark to the front of the plane to make 1 wing. repeat to the other side.

mark 1 3/4 in. from the top point of the fuselage. then pull up the rudder so the front is touching the mark.

apply tape where shown

use your fingers to slowly warp and bend the fuselage to round it out. it is important that you do this step!

this plane does require about a 3/16 in. deflection on the elevator in order to fly.

if the plane tends to drift to the left, warp the back of the rudder to the right slightly. keep tweaking it until it can sustain forward flight.

if the plane tends to rapidly climb, loose airspeed, then fall, warp the elevator down slightly. again, keep tweaking it until it can sustain forward flight. 

if the plane tends to dive rapidly then crash, warp the elevator up slightly. AGAIN, keep tweaking it until it can sustain forward flight.

you will need:
4 standard toothpicks
tape

tape the 4 toothpicks to the forward part of the wing, 2 where the wing meets the fuselage, and 2 about 1 in. out from the the other ones.