Why do some Paper Airplanes fly upside-down?

68 viewsEngineeringOther

Some of the paper airplanes I’ve tried folding always fly upside down. Why? They fly perfectly both ways

In: Engineering

4 Answers

Anonymous 0 Comments

It’s just paper. The wings are flat. They don’t have the curve/arc to them that you normally see on most real plane wings. That reduces their effectiveness a little bit, but it means they don’t care if they’re upside down. The wings aren’t really any different either way.

An airplane can fly with wings that are flat as well, as long as they can take the weight of the plane. It’s more efficient with a proper “airfoil” shape, but with a good angle against the air (Angle of Attack) and enough speed, you’d be amazed what can fly.

You are viewing 1 out of 4 answers, click here to view all answers.