Paper Airplane

This event runs from 10:15 to 11:45 in the gym.  

 

Students with 4th period lunch should eat first then come to the gym at the end of the lunch period. Students with 6th period lunch will launch first. Please do not sign up for overlapping events!

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Students can choose to build two different types of paper airplanes. One paper airplane should be designed to fly as far as possible. The other paper airplane will need to stay in the air as long as possible.

NOTE: Cardboard planes and planes made from paper airplane kits should not be used.

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Building the Paper Airplanes

1.    Research and experiment with plane designs before the competition!

 

2.    ​Each competitor will be given four 8.5"x11" sheets of copy paper. The students must use the paper given to them, though they may choose to use one or two sheets per paper airplane.

 

3.    The following optional materials will be provided for each competitor. The following materials are not required, but may be used if the students desire.

·         one standard paper clip

·         three inches of tape

·         a dab of glue

·         three staples

 

4.    Students will be given 20 minutes to complete their airplane.

 

Distance Test Rules

For the distance category, each student throws his or her paper airplane while the judge records distances in feet and inches. All distances must be measured from the starting line to the point where the plane first touches the ground or floor -- not the final resting place if it slides. Each student has up to three chances to get his or her best distance.

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Time in Air Test Rules

For the time in air category, each student throws his or her airplane while the judge times the flights with an accurate stopwatch. Report the times in seconds and hundredths of a second. (Example: 2.45 seconds.) Each student has up to three chances to get his or her longest "time in air."

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In the Event of a Tie

The winner will be determined by a sudden death round.