4 ms·
One trick I always used but never understood why it worked: When you add a crease to the paper airplane, (say, folding a square corner in on itself at the nose
by j2kun 8y ago
One trick I always used but never understood why it worked:
When you add a crease to the paper airplane, (say, folding a square corner in on itself at the nose or the tail), it weighs down that part of the plane. So if your plane is pointing up too much, you add a crease in the nose and it flies more level.
But why should adding a crease increase the weight of one section of a plane? You're not adding any more paper.
- mhh__ 8y agoWeight distribution, one assumes?
- dmerrick 8y agoYou are moving the center of mass of the paper. Imagine balancing a pipe cleaner on your finger, should be pretty easy, right? Now add a bend and see that you have to reposition the pipe cleaner on your finger
- j2kun 8y agoI'm moving the weight more toward the center of the plane, but the plane "appears" heavier in the front. This is the opposite effect, no?
- kderbyma 8y agoThe weight isn't the key, it's the torque that is formed by redistribution that causes it to level differently