Paper Airplane

'Ultimate' Paper Airplane From 'Top Gear'

click for larger version — and directions to make your own

James May, known as Captain Slow on the popular Top Gear BBC program, recently shared his design for an "ultimate" paper airplane, complete with winglets and elevons, created from a sheet of standard A4 letter-size paper. "It's a sort of cross between a Vulcan bomber and a Fairey Delta, and if you do it properly, it's a good flyer," May told the RadioTimes. May, who flies his own sport aircraft, is also working on a project to build a balsa-wood glider model and fly it across the English Channel -- about 22 miles. Click through for May's illustrated instructions for the "ultimate" flying piece of paper.

Click on the image at right for a larger version of May's instructions. Earlier this year, the video of a flight of a giant paper airplane with a 45-foot-wingspan became one of AVweb's most-clicked-on stories. In February, a new world record was set with an indoor flight of more than 200 feet for a paper airplane design.