You can even use shipping paper. Or recycled toilet paper. [2] X Research source Smooth out the crease after you’ve folded the paper to make it stronger, and make the folds easier to align. Unfold the paper after you crease it so the you now have a piece of paper with a vertical valley crease. [3] X Research source
Run your fingers along the outer edges of the triangles to reinforce the folds with a crease. Make sure that your two smaller, folded triangles come to a point at the top, forming one larger triangle.
Fold the triangle back over its flat bottom edge. The triangle should now be pointing downward. The paper will now be more in the shape of a square. Position the point to stay inline with the center crease, which is now in a mountain fold. [4] X Research source
This will create two thicker triangles that meet along the middle crease. Underneath you should see your original folded triangles creased to form two downward facing triangles at the edges, and two triangles facing outward (both forming a diamond) in the center.
The size of the folds should be small. You want to make them equilateral triangles with sides about half an inch long.
If you fold it the wrong way, the triangles will be facing each other inside the fold. You should now begin to see the base of your jet airplane forming. The triangle folds forming the bottom, and the wing tips of your paper plane.
If you hold your paper with the nose of the paper jet pointing down, the fold should resemble something of an ice cream cone.
Before you crease your fold, make sure that it is not only aligned to the bottom edge of your plane, but that the tip in the back aligns with the one from your first wing. By making sure they are even you’ll get a consistent flight.
Pinch the paper jet towards the front, near the nose. Your plane will have three parts, the base of your jet which is formed by the initial crease, and on either side, two flaps with two triangles pointing upwards followed by wings at the top. You can choose to hold the two flaps between your fingers when you throw your jet, or fan them out. You may find one method works better than the other.
Align the edges of your paper and crease your center fold. Unfold the paper after you crease it so the you now have a piece of paper with a vertical valley crease.
Your paper should now look a bit like a house. The two folded triangles should come down to about halfway on your paper.
You should now have a top layer of paper that resembles an equilateral triangle pointing down. This triangle is overlaid on top of two equilateral triangles on either side pointing up.
With these sides folded in, you should have a flat nose at the top of your paper that looks like a triangle pointing downward.
You should see a trapezoid shape with two triangles pointing at about a forty-five-degree angle outward on either side of it.
The part of the plane you just folded over should be showing at the nose of the plane, overlaid on top of your original crease.
The wings don’t have to be folded even with the base of the plane. They should go slightly past.
You can apply a small bit of tape to both the front and back of your plane to keep the wings closer together if you wish. Keep your plane level with the ground and flick your wrist to send it flying.
