Rounded shapes work better than angular ones. You can use another stiff paper material like cardstock as well.

You can use this image as a guide for what the wing shapes should like, but the exact shape is up to you.

Experiment with different combinations of modeling clay and paper clips to see what makes your plane fly best.

The bigger the paper, the better the plane will fly. If you’re starting with a rectangular piece of paper, make it into a square with the following method. Measure the length of the shorter side of the paper. For standard printer paper, this is 8. 5". Mark the point along the longer side of the paper that’s as long as the shorter side. So for standard printer paper, use your ruler to mark a spot 8. 5" up the longer side. Draw a horizontal line using the mark as a guide. Cut along that line.

If you’re using 6" origami paper, fold it up about 1 cm. If you’re using standard printer paper, fold it up about 1".

At this point you should be holding the paper so that it makes a ring by holding the two ends of the triangle near each other. The edge that you folded up and creased should be on the outside of the ring.

The 1cm to 1 inch thick folded edges are what you’re sliding into one another. You’ll still need to hold the paper in the ring shape as it hasn’t been secured with tape yet.

Any kind of paper will work, but thicker paper, like index cards, will work better. If you use index cards, make sure you get the large, 3x5" kind.

You can cut three 1" wide strips by first making three marks along one side of the paper that are one inch apart. If you’re using index cards, do this on the shorter side. If you’re using printer paper, do this on the longer side. Then make three marks on the opposite side that are also three inches apart. Then use a ruler and draw a straight line connecting the marks across the paper, so that you have three 1" thick segments to cut along. Cut along the lines.

You should now have two loops of paper, one twice the size of the other.

The easiest way to do this is to slide the paper clip onto the loop, then slide it into the opening in the straw.