Pterosaur / Quetzalcoatlus Glider Made From File Folder

Old file folders are great for prototyping, especially when you can find a stack of them for free. Weight (thickness) can vary, but most seem to be 80 lb. or slightly under.

My latest interpretation of a pterosaur is more challenging than the previous in terms of trim. Straight glides are fairly easy, but big turns require fine adjustment and throwing at precise angles. On the other hand, the lack of canards make it look a lot more like a pterosaur, I think.

CAUTION! Use protective eyewear when throwing this glider into big loops or turns. Maintain a safe distance from bystanders.

Why the rounded wings? I've seen depictions of Quetzalcoatlus and others species that have somewhat rounded wing tips. For a glider, I prefer they be rounded. It will fly better and the wing tips won't get damaged as quickly. I also recently learned there is pretty limited fossil evidence of giant pterosaurs (Howtown—The world's weirdest giant...), so I think I can get away with it.

Micro size and regular plans are included below. The latter is recommended for younger and/or inexperienced makers.

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...

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

or sheet of medium card stock (80 lb. / 215 gsm; often sold in squares that need to be trimmed to fit into a printer bypass tray)

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

-liquid white glue and a glue stick

-ruler

-scissors

-pliers or other tool to cut a paper clip

-hobby knife

If cutting out by hand, use the PDF and print onto your material. Unless you have a bypass tray on your machine, you will need to go to a shop or office to copy the plans onto card stock. Cut the pieces out carefully.

Use the SVG file for an automated cutter. The vector layers will likely need to be resized in the workspace. Select and attach (combine) the layers; set the height to 5" for the micro version or 7.4" for the regular version.

Use a glue stick to attach the neck reinforcement first, then the wing reinforcement, and lastly the head.

Cut a piece of paper clip 15 mm (for micro size) or 28 mm (for regular). Use a ruler to make creases and define the tabs of the two body pieces. The piece of paper clip will be embedded between these to pieces, at the nose. Apply a bead of liquid glue, of appropriate length, to the nose of one of the body pieces. Place the piece of paper clip. Wait about a minute, then apply a thin layer of glue to the other body piece and begin aligning and pressing the layers together, starting at the tail and working toward the nose.

Wait another minute, then use liquid glue to attach the body to the ventral side of the main piece. In addition to a thin layer of glue on the four tabs, a thin bead must be added along the spine of the body.

Make creases to define the ruddervators on the two tail pieces. Apply a thin bead of liquid glue to the base of each. Attach them vertically and wait about 90 seconds for the glue to set up, then slowly angle each fin outward by 45 degrees.

Pinch along the leading edges of the wings to curl them down slightly. The curl should be greater at the wing roots and gradually fade to flat near the wing tips.

Starting at the aft elevators, on the trailing edges of the wings, pinch with your finger and thumb to curl the edges up by about ten degrees at the wing roots. Working out to half the distance to the tip, let the curl fade to flat. Past the midpoints, start to curl the trailing edges down a few degrees, and fade to flat again at the wing tips.

Use a ruler to define the creases of the wing roots. Raise each wing tip by about seven degrees above horizontal.

It is preferable to test indoors, where there is no breeze. Deflect the ruddervators up by about 15 degrees. Check the glider from front, rear, top, bottom, and sides, looking for dents and warps and doing your best to correct them. In particular, the contour and angle of the two wings need to mirror each other—any inconsistency will greatly impact the flight of the glider.

Throw the glider with medium force, straight and level. Observe its flight tendencies. Make tiny, incremental adjustments.

If it is pitching down, increase the deflection of the ruddervators and/or the deflection of the trailing edges of the wings. If it is pitching up, do the opposite. If gently turning left, increase the deflection of the left ruddervator, and the opposite if gently turning right. If rolling and turning hard left, increase the upward deflection of the middle/outer trailing edge of the left wing (the aileron, basically), and/or slightly lower the deflection of the same area of the right wing. Do the opposite if rolling and turning hard right.

**Reminder: put on some glasses before you start chucking your glider outdoors; do not throw near bystanders

Current and previous versions of the pterosaur glider.