Micro Trainer Airplane Made of Card Stock

This tiny glider is great for flying in a small yard or park. It is my own, original design. You'll need about an hour to make it. Some prior experience with paper crafting and gliders is recommended.

-sheet of medium weight card stock (80 lb. / 215 gsm), or two sheets for color variety; stores often sell this in large squares that will need to be trimmed to fit into a printer

or beige file folder, cut to a standard size (8.5" x 11" / A4)

or sheet of printer paper and sheet of light card stock (65 lb. / 175 gsm) that are glued together

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

-liquid white glue and a glue stick

-ruler

-scissors

-pliers or other tool to cut a paper clip

-hobby knife

-scrap piece of white card stock (optional)

Two gliders can be made from a single sheet of material! Download the PDF below. Print at 100% scale.

Cut out the pieces. Go slowly and carefully. I prefer to "take the line", meaning no ink remains on the finished pieces.

The main piece is the fuselage, wings, and horizontal stabilizers. Using a glue stick, attach the cross-shaped brace to the bottom of the main piece.

Using a ruler, define the creases of the leading and trailing edges of the wings, as well as those of the elevators.

Trim the cross brace where it overhangs the nose. Glue together the two smaller braces, using a glue stick, then attach them to the top of the nose area.

From the paper clip, cut a length of 27mm.

Establish creases on the two chin pieces and form them to 90-degree angles. The larger panels of each get glue together with liquid glue. As the glue is drying, place the piece of paper clip between the two pieces and press it in slightly. Note that it is set back 7mm from the tip of the glider's nose.

Wait a few minutes, then use liquid glue to attach the chin to the bottom of the main piece. Once the glue had dried enough to hold it in place, press down the top of the nose so it is bent down slightly (and matched the shape of the chin piece). Hold it until the glue bonds.

Glue the two small side pieces in place on the chin.

I prefer a white canopy, so I traced the original canopy onto a scrap piece of thick paper.

Establish creases on the lines. The v-shaped cuts allow for a slight overlap, which results in the angle on the top of the canopy. Use a couple of dots of liquid glue at those points, then pinch the layers together to bond them.

Establish a crease on the fin to define the rudder. Use a very thin bead of liquid glue to attach the fin to the aft end of the fuselage. Try to get it perfectly centered and straight.

Take a break! Enjoy a cup of tea and stretch your legs while the glue dries.

Next, use liquid glue to attach the canopy to the main piece. Lastly, attach the canopy/nose brace, and trim it.

Gingerly establish a soft crease at each wing root by pinching and angling the wings upward. Each wing tip should be raised about five degrees above horizontal. Then camber the wings by bending the leading edges at a downward angle of about 10 degrees, and the trailing edges by about 12 degrees; the angle of the trailing edges can fade a little out to the wing tips.

Check the glider from front, back, top, and bottom. Look for warps, twists, and other issues. You can use your fingers to gently reshape the material, and, after some repetition, the card stock will hold its new shape. Symmetry of the left and right wings is essential for good flight.

If possible, test your glider indoors. Throw it softly and level. Try to be as consistent as possible, and test it several times. If it tends to dive, deflect the elevators up. Make tiny adjustments only!

You can use the rudder to counteract a mild turn. Deflecting the rudder to the left will cause the glider to go left, and deflecting it to the right will make it go right. Again, any adjustment should be very small.

If attempts to correct a turn with the rudder are unsuccessful, you may need to adjust a wing. Treat the middle trailing edge of each wing as if it were an aileron. Pinch the trailing edge and adjust it a millimeter up or down, over a length of about a couple centimeters. Raising the left aileron will help the glider roll left, and lowering it will help it roll right. Adjusting the right aileron will have the opposite effect.

Good luck!

Enjoy!