Three aerospace engineers have broken the world record for the farthest flight of a paper airplane, achieving a distance of 88 meters, equivalent to the length of an American football field.
Dillon Ruble throws the record-setting paper airplane. (Photo: Guinness).
The engineering team from Boeing surpassed the previous record of 77 meters set in April 2022 in South Korea. Dillon Ruble, a systems engineer at Boeing, collaborated with two colleagues Garrett Jensen and Nathaniel Erickson. The trio recently graduated with master’s degrees in mechanical and aerospace engineering from the Missouri University of Science and Technology. They dedicated nearly 500 hours to studying origami folding techniques and aerodynamics to create and test multiple prototypes. The engineers finalized their design on December 2, 2022, in Crown Point, according to a report by CNN on April 14.
“We hope this record will stand for a while. It exceeds our previous best throw by about 4.2 to 4.6 meters. Beating the previous record required meticulous planning and a lot of skill,” Jensen shared.
The engineering team determined that their best chance to break the world record was to design an airplane focused on speed and minimizing drag, allowing it to cover a long distance in a short time. Inspired by various supersonic airplane models (vehicles capable of flying more than five times the speed of sound), especially NASA’s X-43A, Jensen and his colleagues devised a new record-setting design named Mach 5.
“Real airplanes and paper airplanes are vastly different in complexity, but both operate on the same fundamental principles,” Ruble explained. “Some design methods can be applied to both. One of those methods is trial and error. For example, we would come up with a fold that could be used on the airplane, test it by throwing it, and then compare the distance with previous versions to determine if the change was beneficial.”
To discover the best paper airplane folding technique, the engineering team ran numerous simulations and analyzed slow-motion video of their test throws. They found that an optimal angle of approximately 40 degrees relative to the ground was ideal. They also identified A4 paper as the most suitable option for folding airplanes. With a meticulous design process and attention to the guidelines set by the Guinness World Records organization, the trio successfully broke the record.
During the record-setting flight, the airplane remained airborne for about six seconds. The current Guinness World Record for the longest flight time of a paper airplane is 29.2 seconds. According to Ruble, the design goals for setting a distance record are very different from those for achieving a low-drag version aimed at flying the farthest. Increasing the wingspan and reducing the aspect ratio were the first steps in creating this type of airplane.
Ruble emphasized that the trial-and-error method highlights the importance of prototyping in practice. The entire team hopes their record will inspire young aerospace engineers to pursue their dreams.
