How to Make a Boomerang Paper Airplane

Folding the Plane Fuselage

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   Fold an ordinary sheet of printer paper in half lengthwise. Normal sized pieces of printer paper are generally 8.5 by 11 inches (21.59 by 27.94 cm), which is the recommended size paper for an origami super boomerang airplane. And if the option is available to you, choose 20 or 24-pound weight paper to make a sturdier craft. Crease your fold firmly. ^[1]

   • The “weight” of your paper does not describe the actual heaviness of a sheet, but the sturdiness and thickness of it. Higher weight paper is sturdier, and will withstand air-forces better when you launch the boomerang in real life. 20 and 24 lb paper is most frequently used in copy machines and office printers. ^[2]
   • When working with children, you may want to make use of the term “hot dog” style to help young ones better associate the long-sided orientation of the paper with the fold stretching left-to-right. Generally, folding something “hot dog” style is folding it like you would to make a hot dog – lengthwise down the middle.
   • It is also possible for you to use A4 paper or a 6 - inch square of origami paper to fold your origami super boomerang. However, when one of these irregular shapes of paper, you will have to be especially precise with your folds and may have to make slight modifications.
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   Lay the paper lengthwise and fold the bottom corners. Open your paper and set it on your work space so it is lying lengthwise (horizontally). The crease in the middle of your paper should run left-to-right. Now take the bottom left and the bottom right corners one at a time and fold each inward to the crease. ^[3]

   • When folding your corners, line up each so the edges both run to evenly alongside the center crease. There should be a 2 - 3 inch gap (5 - 7.6 cm) between your folded corners.
   • You can use a paper folding tool called a bone folder to help you form tighter creases when folding. You could make a bone folder of your own easily. You might use a smooth bottle cap, a paperweight, or even a coin in your pocket to press with while you fold your paper. This will form an especially crisp crease, which will strengthen your finished boomerang airplane. ^[4]
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   Fold the flat bottom edge to meet the middle crease twice. The bottom half of your paper should now have both corners folded in and aligned evenly with the middle crease. However, a flap at the bottom should remain. The bottom-most edge of the flap should still run parallel to the middle crease.

   • Fold the bottom edge, which should run parallel to the middle crease, up to meet the crease. Then fold once more so the newly formed bottom edge again bends up to meet the middle crease. ^[5]
   • Avoid overlapping the crease too much. When your edges overlap, the final fold can become weakened. Neat, well aligned folds will help maintain the structure of your paper airplane.
   • With multiple/layered folds, you should take extra care to reinforce your fold by running your nail or bone folder along your creases. The more layers of paper you have to fold, the more pressure you’ll have to apply to get a sharp crease on each of the layered pages.
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   Reorient your paper and fold the bottom edge. Turn your paper so that the folded half is facing the left side. With this new orientation, the bottom edge of your paper should be an even line except for the leftmost side, which should be angled in an upward diagonal. Fold this bottom strip so its diagonal meets the diagonal fold immediately above it. ^[6]

   • Depending on the crispness of your folds, the weight of your paper, and the size of paper you’ve used, the size of this fold could vary. You will likely need to fold the tab upward at around the 1-inch mark (2.54 cm).
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   Fold the opposite end tab similarly. Turn your paper so the folded half faces the right side instead of the left. Your folded tab should be at the top of your page, and the edge of the bottom tab should be mostly straight except for an upward diagonal at the far right. Take the bottom tab and bend it upwards so its diagonal runs along the folded diagonal above it. Use crisp, clean folds.

   • This fold, much like the one previous, may increase or decrease in size depending on paper weight, size, and your folding skills. Approximately, you’ll have to fold your bottom tab upward at around the 1-inch mark (2.54 cm).
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   Reposition your paper and release the folded tabs. Turn the folded half of your paper from its current right side position to face downward again. Then you should unfold the flaps on the left and right that you just folded. You will need to re-fold, reinforce the folds with your nail or bone folder, and re-open the tabs several times to strengthen the fold. Then leave your tabs unfolded. ^[7]

   • At this time you should go over all your folds with your nail or a bone folder. This will strengthen the creases of your aircraft and help your plane fly best.
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   Bend your paper into an arc/semi-circle. You can do this with any substantial hard edge, like the edge of your desk, the edge of a sturdy bookcase, the edge of a clean counter-top, and so on. Then:

   • Take your paper with one long side end in each hand. Be sure you are holding your paper with the folds facing downward toward your edge.
   • Bend the downward facing side of your paper along the edge by winding it tightly along the top of the edge, the side of the edge, and along the bottom of the edge in a back and forth motion.
   • Before performing this maneuver, you should check your edge for irregularities. Chips, cracks, or other deformities in your can catch on your paper and cause it to rip. A quick inspection beforehand can save you the trouble of having to start from the beginning to redo your folds.
   • Apply firm pressure with your hands to improve the bend. Be careful not to apply too much pressure; this can lead to a rip or a tear. You should also keep your movements steady and perpendicular (forming an L-shape to) the counter. This will prevent your paper from catching on the table.
   • Give extra attention to the heavily folded half of your page. You should reinforce the half of your page with many layered folds by running the folds as directly along the hard edge as possible. ^[8]
   • When finished, your paper should have a curved, semi-circular, bowed shape from running it back and forth along the hard edge. If you lay your paper on a flat surface and it does not curl into a bowed/semi-circular shape, you should run your paper along your hard edge more until it does.
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Zig-zagging the Plane Fuselage to Boomerang

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   Halve your paper. Position your paper so the folds are face up with the folded half of the page pointing in the downward direction. The outer left and right tabs, which you left unfolded while running your paper along an edge, will need to be folded inward again. This fold will return the diagonal of each tab to meet and run evenly along the diagonal fold above each tab.

   • Once you have refolded your left and right tabs, you should fold the outside edges together so the left and right sides meet evenly. Fold a sharp crease down the middle lengthwise.
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   Unfold and halve your wings to the center crease. With your paper oriented lengthwise, open the middle fold you’ve just made. Now take the outside left and right edges and fold these to the middle crease.

   • Reinforce your folds here, especially the thick creases that have many layers of paper. You can use either your nail or a bone folder. You might also want apply more pressure to achieve the best crease.
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   Peel back your flaps to meet the outside edges. You should have two flaps folding inward that meet at the center crease. Take the right flap and peel it back so its inside edge now runs even with the outermost right edge.

   • Do this for both sides to create a small gap in the center. Use your nail or a bone folder to reinforce the thick folds here to strengthen your plane.
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   Halve your wings once more. Fold your paper in half lengthwise. Reinforce your folds by running your nail or a bone folder along the creases, particularly the creases with many folds. When you have finished re-creasing, turn your paper so the open, uncreased side is facing in the downward direction (toward you) and:

   • Fold the top flap, which should contain several layers of paper, to meet the top edge. Then turn your paper over and perform the same fold with the opposite flap of your paper.
   • Crease the resulting folds well. Run your nail or bone folder several times along each crease. Due to the thickness of your folds at this point, you may have the best results creating crisp creases with a heavy, flat-edged paperweight. ^[9]
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   Unfold your airplane and prepare to launch. Your airplane should unfold in a zig-zag/staircase shape. One half of the zig-zag strip will be heavily folded and the other half not folded at all. The folded end is the nose of your plane.

   • Hold the plane by laying your pointer finger in the trough of the very middle of your zig-zags so that the tip of your finger almost reaches the folded part of the nose of your plane. Your other fingers should support the plane from beneath.
   • Launch your plane by throwing outward while curving your hand in the direction you want your boomerang plane to return to you. For example, if you want your boomerang plane to loop around and return to you on the right, you should curve your hand to the right when throwing. If you want the plane to loop around on the left, you should curve to the left while throwing.
   • It may take a considerable amount of practice before you get the hang of throwing your boomerang airplane. You might also need to tweak the shape of your plane. For example, if you are trying to get your plane to curve back to you on the right, you might add a small rightward bend to the back right tail of your plane. This will create more drag on the side, making it cut more in that direction.
   • By tweaking the tail end of your plane you can further improve its turning or flight. Usually, these tweaks will involve putting small bends or creases in the tail of your plane. By bending the tail up or down, you create different kinds of drag, or wind resistance. Drag forces will influence how your plane flies. ^{[10] [11]}
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