T-Tail Paper Airplane

Want to make a paper airplane that will fly better than any of it's competitors and look cool doing it? Here's your chance! A friend of mine showed me this awesome paper airplane before, and I figured I should share with the world my creation.

2/25/15

-1 sheet of printer paper, preferably 8"x11"

-Scissors (optional)

Holding the paper horizontally, fold the paper in half lining up edge to edge so that the paper is shaped as a rectangle. Then unfold and place the paper down with the crease pointing up. Then, hold the paper vertically and fold the bottom right corner across the paper lining up the corner with the edge of the paper. Pull that fold back, and repeat the same process for the bottom left corner. An "X" should be formed from the creases with a vertical line cutting through the center.

NOTE: Be sure to make each fold as even and tight as possible. The more precise the folds, the greater the end result.

Flip the paper over so that the creases are facing downward and place the paper vertically. Fold the X you have formed in half, so that the corners of the paper line up with the two top corners of the X crease. Flip the paper over again so the creases are up, and push in the two sides of the X so it closes up like an accordion, and push the excess flaps down in order to form a triangle.

Below the triangle nose that you have created, there will be a rectangular tab hanging. Fold this tab in half so it is half its original width. Fold the same tab on the same crease but in the opposite direction. Apply plenty of pressure to the crease so that it becomes worn. Now apply pressure to one side of the crease, and slowing rip the bottom half away from the rest of the paper. It's important to do it slowly and accurately, and scissors may be used to assist if necessary.

Now lets focus on the small piece which will become our tail. Take the rectangular piece of paper and fold one side in half so that the outer edge lines up with the crease in the center of the paper. Undo the fold, and flip the paper over. Fold the piece of paper in half horizontally, forming a long thin strip. Now using the crease that was formed in the beginning of this step, starting at the open end of the thin strip, carefully rip that crease until just before it becomes detached.

Using the longer end of the piece of paper, fold one side of the long strip in half towards the outside. Do Not fold beyond the rip. Fold the other half of the long strip in half towards the outside so that its symmetrical to the other side. The tip of the paper should form an "M" at the end as shown. Now using the fat piece of the paper, Fold the two disconnected flaps downward so that the entire strip is the same width. After this step, the end of it will resemble a T-tail of an airplane.

Now place the tail piece aside, and take out the larger piece of paper that you began with. Fold the bottom right and left hand corners of the triangle (only one layer of paper) so that they line up with the center point and center-line. Take the two new flaps that you just created, and fold each of them in half away from the center point. This will form a diamond shape if done correctly, and then can be folded back. Now using the same flaps, take the right corner and fold it towards the centerline so that the edge is perfectly centered. Do the same step to the left side. Place these folds back to where they were, and now fold the bottom corners toward the center-line forming the same shape, but upside down as shown. Now unfold back to the diamond shape.

Now for the tricky maneuver. The folds from the last step were done to form particular creases for this step. Using the same flaps as the previous step, take the right point and push that side towards the center. Now a mini triangle shape is formed by creases, and using your fingers pull that triangle upward while you line up the edge with the center-line. A small triangular tab should be sticking up from the paper. Continue the same step for the left side. Push the two flaps down flat towards the tip of the plane.

Flip the paper over to the other side where all the tabs are now unseen. Fold the top point of the paper downward so that the two tabs you created in the last step are the only thing visible from the other side of the paper. Fold the entire plane in half along the center-line. Now only using one side, fold back one side so that the inner edge lines up with the triangle tab sticking out. Repeat the same step for the other side, and these become the wings of your plane. Fold upward the edges of each wing to form symmetrical wing lets on each wing.

Now flip the body of the plane on the side so that the center of it forms a "V" shape. There is a triangular tab pointing in the opposite direction as the front of the plane. Slide the narrow side of the tail under this tab, and once in place squeeze the center of the plane together to lock together. Once the tab securely holds the tail, your airplane is finished!