The path to glory is never easy. My thrower is recovering from a neck injury. An unexpected delivery of spare gas bags has delayed further testing at the blimp hanger. My window to try out a back up thrower has come and gone. Meanwhile, there’s every chance that Mr. Toda will extend his time aloft mark to 30 seconds or beyond. In the screenplay version of these events, this would be an obstacle at the end of act two. It doesn’t rise to the “all is lost” moment in the middle of act 3, but it feels like I’m at least a couple of months away from a chance to seriously practice throwing.

In better news, an exhibit at the Monterey Airport (Monterery, CA) has opened featuring paper folding. Some of my planes are part of the exhibit, which will run for almost a year. So, if you’re in the area, check it out.

Last weekend saw my return to Evergreen Aviation outside of Portland, Oregon. This was a well attended event. They had even arranged a television interview at the local CBS affiliate the day before the event. Fun stuff. Evergreen is home to the Spruce Goose, and my presentations are staged under the massive tail feathers. Aviation museums are always fun to present in, and Evergreen is especially fun because of their range of aircraft and space vehicles. I highly recommend a visit when your travels take you to Oregon. Say hi to the SR-71 for me, and don’t forget to be Spruce Goosed!

Here’s looping at you!

http://activenet2.active.com/sausalito/

For a one day class Saturday, 1/23/10 sign up at the address above and search for Wings Over Sausalito. 9am to 1pm at 420 Litho Street in Sausalito. I’m sure this will fill up fast. I hope to see you there.

Happy Halloween, in advance. http://www.apptism.com/apps/paper-plane-guy-s-bat-plane
For a buck you get instructions for my Bat Plane that flaps its wings as it flies. Use thin paper, like phone book paper, and fold neatly.

Thanks to Tim Martin, iPhone app developer extraordinaire for pulling off a spooktacular job in time for Halloween.

Oddly, this was not my only brush with bat greatness lately. Those who check my calendar pages will have noticed my recent trip to Spokane for Mobius Children’s museum. This was a fund raising event held at a casino. No kids; well, except for me. I had just flown the Bat Plane to great effect, and as I was returning to the stage for another throw, I had a thought. With an adult only crowd, they might remember that cheesy theme from the old Bat Man tv show. I announced that I was about to make everyone feel old and asked if they were ready. I rolled right into a pitch perfect delivery of “duh duh da da, duh duh da da, duh duh da da, duh duh da da… and waited for it. The audience, in near totality, sang, “Bat Plane”. Mission accomplished. They all had another sip of their martinis. I continued attempting to miss their dinner courses with the rest of my aerial assault on their senses.

In other news: training, planning, and paper acquisition continue in preparation for a record breaking day.

I’ve made several technical improvements to the designs to facilitate throwing. 24lb paper is actually 90gsm. The maximum allowable paper weight is 100gsm. So, I’m giving up 10% unless I find a source for what is mainly a European standard for paper. These folks are helping me track down a possible source. Samples should arrive next week.

My launch vehicle has a couple of weeks off, so more testing in a fortnight. Hopefully, the combination of heavier paper and improved design will put this project on the fast track. Meanwhile, the whole deadline is getting pushed back; tv, blimp hangar, and throwing arm all have to line up correctly. That’s impossible for the 26th.

Teaching a dog to roll over is easy compared to a paper airplane. Mike has an arm. I believe he can help break the records. The planes will have to be re-engineered for him. What was working for me at Moffett Field on the first testing day; my modified design from The Gliding Flight; was not rolling over so nicely for Mike. The extra power in his throw was warping the wings on the way up, changing my dihedral angle just enough to defeat my roll-over trim on the winglets.

We had a 19 second flight, which looked pretty good, but we couldn’t consistently get a clean transition to flight mode from launch.
Power doesn’t solve everything. I feel like someone has just handed me gunpowder. I understand that a solid rocket engine might be possible. How do I keep things from just blowing up? How do I control and direct the power efficiently?
I spent last night re-working my designs.

Given enough time, I might find someone with the right finesse to launch the planes from my books into the Guinness Records. Right now, the best deadline strategy is to make the plane fit the thrower.

My 300 foot tape measure and my stopwatch are nestled against my lock-top plastic tub full of paper airplanes. Athletes live in a world where things are rigidly measured. There’s comfort and fear built into that idea. I know my planes are great. Are they provably the best?

This afternoon, Cal hall-of-famer, Mike Pawlawski will attempt to throw my planes very hard. Having the can-do attitude and the will to win on my side helps. But this guy is a quarterback.

The last quarterback to throw my planes nearly ripped them in half trying to launch them. He snapped his wrist too violently and downward, the planes would nearly turn inside out and fall at his feet. This was an arena football player who could stand flat-footed and hit the goal post from 40 yards out. It sounded like a slam dunk; right up to the time he actually threw a plane.

And so it is; sand is running through the hour glass, falling right at September 26th. The date is set. The Blimp Hanger at Moffett Field is set. The airplanes are folded. My wimpy arm is benched while I search for a suitable launch vehicle. I booked all this because I thought my search had ended. I had found a quarterback. Then, my plans were turned inside out with a snapping, wrist wracking throw. Do you have any idea how small ten feet looks in a blimp hangar? Believe me; you don’t ever want to know.

So, up next on the new hit miniseries in my head, “So, You Think You Can Throw?”, Mike Pawlawski. A quarterback. I’m only a little worried. The new world record holder, for duration, claims he can make a 35 second throw. Great. I’m starting an international arms race.

Wired Magazine published instructions for the paper airplane that just broke the Guinness World Record for duration of flight (time aloft).
http://www.wired.com/science/discoveries/magazine/17-09/st_alphageek

I like the style. Very few steps, elegant technique, and very clever design. First, the locking mechanism for the fuselage was new to me. It’s a squash fold, which I’ve used for the same purpose, but he nails nose shut and creates smoother air flow.
Toda’s best trick isn’t obvious until you test fly the plane. No matter what angle the plane arrives at the apex of your throw, it rolls right side up and starts gliding. That’s brilliant.

Watch Toda’s record breaking throw:

Toda’s plane has less wing area than the previous record holder, which is a bit of a surprise. However, it’s higher aspect ratio wing may give it a glide ratio advantage. I never found Ken Blackburn’s plane to be outstanding in the glide slope arena. And frankly, I was never sure I’d ever folded it precisely the way Ken intended. With Toda’s plane, there’s no guess work.

Toda has not only re-written the record book. He’s re-defined how the winning duration plane should look and be constructed. He doesn’t load the nose with endless layers of paper, he spreads the layers tactically. The wings are wide and stiff. The leading edge is thin and clean. The center of gravity is lower. Absolutely no tape is needed (even though the rules allow a small piece). This is a really cool plane.