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.