The Neatest, Sleekest, Most Unique, Paper Airplane Ever : The “Flying Hole”
74If you want a paper airplane that the kids can throw around without putting each others’ eyes out (or without knocking over your knick-knacks), this is it. Or if you want a paper airplane that's one of the most simple, unique, and elegant you’ve ever seen, this is it as well. I’ve been showing kids (and adults) how to make this quirky craft ever since I first saw it in Scientific American Magazine back in the ‘50s. The "Flying Hole" paper airplane may not set any distance records, but it's pretty darned slick… and here's how to make it:
(1) Lay out a piece of printer paper. (If you can find a larger sheet … like brown craft paper or the big pads used in office conference rooms… try that too!)
(2) Fold the paper diagonally across its middle as shown here.
(3) Fold the long diagonal edge back over itself twice (by about 1/4 to 3/8 inch) and crease it down well.
(4) With the folded edge on the inside, form the paper into a nice round cylinder, and staple the ends of the folded edge together at the back
(5) Smooth the folded round edge (which is the front of the plane) until it forms a nice circle. That's the "hole"!
(6) When flying this plane, less force is better than more! With your arm extended, hold the plane up over your head by its back tips. Then swing your arm down gently, and when your hand almost points straight forward, simply let go of the Flying Hole. Don’t try to push it through the air. It will cruise away in a gentle curving arc.
Special Feature: With a wide circle at its front, this plane is less likely to poke peoples’ eyes… and the plane’s nose never gets dented!
(7) Flying Holes make great party favors too. Show the kids how to make, decorate, and fly them... and then let them wear the planes like crowns. It's great silly fun!
Some Experiments with the Flying Hole:
- Make BIG ones from brown kraft paper or from sheets of a large conference-room pad.
- Try taping several planes together into more complex configurations. (Tape them where their folded front rims and their back tails touch.) Does grouping them improve their flight? For example, does a line of them taped side-to-side fly straighter or longer? Try some whacky configurations. And if you come up with a winner, please let us know!
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Great! I'll try making this with my Son and see about flying them or wearing them lol!
Hi Marellen! If you're not actually trying to throw it, you're doing it right. Is it gliding down across the room?
And Wayne, let us know what your son thinks of it!! ;-)
KMy Dad is a pilot and loves toy airplanes of all kind. Problem with him making paper airplanes is he doesn't like ruining the book of reading to make paper airplanes. sigh.
Really sort of fun with the kids, your article reminds me of the countless hours we spent as youngsters making paper airplanes. Funny how certain things like paper airplane making gets handed to the next generation. Thanks
Thanks Flora! At least with the "Flying Hole" he can use a piece of printer paper (especially one that's already been printed on). A very "green" thing!
You're most welcome, Nicolas. Precisely what I'm doing! Some of our friends' kids... who are just now graduating from college... still remember when I taught them how to make this plane. Back then, they were small enough to jump up and down on their parents' couch. And now, I hope they pass it forward!
Your simple little paper airplane is an aerodynamic wonder, Dave! I made one and it swooped and looped through the air to my delight, until Kungfoo Kitty (our hyperactive cat) caught it and shredded it to pieces! LOL
Hi again punacoast! All that swooping and looping... must-a been all that good Hawaiian air. Glad you like the design! And your Kungfoo Kitty must be related to our Posie... she loves to chase it too. But at least it's easy to build again! ;-)
Great ideas here and easy steps to follow.Great article, Dave.
You's very welcome, William... Thanks!
Hahaa, I love this! What fun!! I think I'll need to take a break from being productive and make a couple of these.... right now!
Go for it Simone...Thankfully, they're easy and quick to make. Let me know how it went!
Congratulations on being chosen hub of the day.
That's interesting...
full of fun and interesting hub.keep it up
Hi Dave, I have just made my flying machine, what a mover, it's brill! one for my grandkids to make!
Congratulations on Hub of the Day!
Sounds like fun; I can't wait to try it with my kids! Thanks!
Great Hub, Congratulations! Voted Up
I did it. I went to the stairs and let go the plane, it is really one nice gliding paper airplane.
My daughter laughed at me. lol
She tried it too.
As a kid I loved tossing maple tree seeds into the air and making whirly birds. Thank you for this new idea - I'll try it with the kids...keep on flying!
OK, that was fun! Something to pass on to the kids at school. :)
Cool. We are sharing this tonight at Cub Scouts and will be building them. Thanks for this, you are going to make a dozen little boys happy.
Thank you! This will be such fun to do with the little ones! Congrats on Hub of the Day, not just because this is indeed a cool hub, but because everyone needs to have a little fun now and then.
WOW... "Hub of the Day"... Thanks so much!!! And thank you too... Simone and everyone... for the wonderful comments! Since I was in the scouts myself (very long ago), I'm eager to hear how it went with your pack, Hyphenbird!
This is the most simple and impressive hub I have ever read. Less text, original photos and fun.
btw, it seems like u are getting bald headed. Could be clearly seen in the last photo :-)
The Captain America Airplane!!! LOL, Great Hub!!!
Amazing idea... I loved making paper airplanes as a child.... Hey I'm 43 but going to try this later. Thank you Dave for the amazing idea :-)
Thanks for the nice comments about the hub, emdi! You also CAUGHT me... I hide that little issue well in my HubPages profile pic, but it's still so sad!! And thanks jagged81 for confirming that I attained the graphic "look" I was trying for. And let me know how it goes, xpknol (and eveyone else who is going to be "flying" tonight (in a paper sense, of course)!
I used to love flying paper airplanes. Think I'll try it just for fun.
Congratulations on being the hub of the day! This looks like a fun project to do with my nieces and nephews. Thanks for posting. Voted up and sharing!
This rules! I managed to kill 15 minutes at work and it was amazing!
Congratulations for being the hub of the day!!!
These are so cool I have made them before. Better than a traditional I think!
Congrats on Hub of the Day. My 5 year old tries to make a paper plane almost daily. He's going to love this cylinder change up! Thanks for sharing.
I love this paper airplane! We used to fly it from the second story of my house to the neighbors yard with secret messages written on it.
Aw, thanks so much everyone... Love the stories! I hope Matt Stark didn't get caught at work! ;-) It's also great hearing from folks like vinsanity and Kenny who've made the plane before. (After Kenny's story, I think I should rename it the "Stealth Courier.") Let me know how the wee ones take to it, applecsmith and Mother Nurture... or how YOU like it, KMattox! And thanks for the congrats, applecsmith and biljanakara... as a relative newb here, I appreciate it! Biljanakara, I see from your profile that you're into online games... have you visited some of the role-play sims that might be of interest to you in Second Life?
Fantastic bit of paper engineering! - Outperformed all my usual paper planes - Terrific!
Excellent... You sound like a paper-flight engineer, Gaizy!
Dave, what a fun hub! This flying hole is spectacular and looks like a perfect classroom project as well. And the party favor idea is top-knotch! Up across the board my friend! Super good photo guide!
Cheers~
K9
Hi again, K9... Thanks so much my friend! I really like your classroom idea. Can you imagine a whole class of kids throwing these things around! And you know what would be really fun?... Somehow attaching one to a kite string so that the plane would release when the wind carried it up to the kite. (My dad used to do that with our used paper plates... and people phoned UFO reports to the police from all over our neighborhood. We were BAD!)
On another subject entirely, I'm sorry that I couldn't contribute to HP's plumbing topic. I know absolutely NOTHING about plumbing... but you certainly don't have that problem! I'm going to read all of your hubs... try to learn something for a change! 8-0
Howdy Dave - Cool gadget. My try was made with "heavier" paper, and it worked OK but "landed" way too fast. Suggest using lighter weight paper - ought to work nicely.
Gus :-)))
Hey, thanks for the report from the testing lab, GusTheRedneck! Wonder if the tissue paper we use to wrap gifts would work better? Or tracing paper (if one could find a big sheet of it)? I'm going to try some tissue paper myself t'night! ;-)
I've made loads this afternoon with my boys. Best configuration we found was 3 in a triangle shape, stapled just at the rims. A bit of a pain to fly, but once it goes its excellent. Try folding up the tip corners and just dropping it vertically - it swoops under for a perfect landing, no throwing needed.
Congratulations on Hub of the Day! Well-deserved, and clear, simple instructions I'll actually be able to remember after I leave the computer!
Sounds like a fun thing. I've only known how to make a single "traditional" type, and you're right--the nose always gets dinged.
No doubt our cats will also find this highly amusing. Great use for all that otherwise wasted paper that comes through the fax machine as unsolicited ads, or my printing goofs! Voted up, awesome, interesting and useful!
Good job! And congratulations!
Cool! My 14 yr old is crazy about paper planes. Did a project on it, now his room always has one lting somewhere. I'll have to show him this one.
Thanks for sharing!
Congratulations for being selected for the Hub of the Day!
My son loves paper planes. He went through a paper plane book in less than a week! I will share with him! Thank you. Voting up and sharing!
JSMatthew~
Hi Dave. The boys LOVED the planes. They built and flew them for an hour. It was so fun to watch them laugh. And the older ones helped the little boys. Your "Hubplane" brought happiness galore tonight. Thank you and the scouts say thanks also. I told them where the idea and design came from.
This is quite unusual. If I had kids I would try it...maybe I still should, I do sometimes act like one...lol
Congratulations on being selected for Hub of the day!
defiantly something to make for the younger sister, thank you for sharing!
voted up.
This is a wonderful idea! Good for you and you explained it so well! It just goes to show you that you don't need to buy expensive toys at Toys R Us to entertain kids. I bet they would be entertained for hours with a simple piece of paper, a stapler or tape and some markers. Great hub! And congratulations on being hub of the day!
Hello Dave,
Congratulations on being hub of the day! This neat little flying device would be a lot of fun to make with kids - and inexpensive too. Forget the ipod, ipad and get them off facebook...I say make the "Neatest, Sleekest, Most Unique, Paper Airplane Ever" instead and rediscover some quality time together. It's genius! Voted UP :-)
Cloverleaf.
Great hub! My son's name is Jett -- just one extra t . . . so anything about planes have always had a fasination for me. I collect jet books, jet memorabila . . . Thanks
OMG... You're so welcome everyone. And thanks so much for the wonderful comments and votes!
I'm going to try your configuration tomorrow, AmdrewGee... great idea. And I'm so glad Hyphenbird... That had to be quite a scene with all those "Hubplanes" flying around. (Love the name.) And Hi again Cardisa. Hey... if I can do it, so should you!
And DzyMsLizzy, bluebird, ComfortB, J.S. Matthew, stephwazere, suzettenaples, Cloverleaf, and Truckstop Sally... Thanks so much, and go for it!
Hey Dave, cool Hub!
You can see how much everyone is with keen on the technology of flight, not to mention having a simple model available to test their engineering and test-pilot skills!
I have a Power Point file sent to me from a friend a while back and it has a personal aircraft ultralight with similar features. I would include it with my comment, but I'm not that computer savy, so I'll just email you the file. Hope you enjoy it, and thanks for the interesting distraction - I'm sure to show it off to my relatives.
I tried to make one and I used a bunch of paper clips and it was still pretty sweet. Nice hub
I remember something like this from when I was a kid. Great memories - I will have to make one with my kids!
You're right, that is the neatest, sleekest, most unique paper plane ever! I made one soon after I've read this hub. Amazing how this plane flies. I was just playing with my sister, and we looked like little kids. Voted up!
What a fantastic hub! After reading this, my sister (also a hubber) called me and showed me her new pink paper plane. I didn't know that she was reading this hub, too! She let it go and the plane hit right between my eyes. Thank God, this plane was designed to keep our eyes from being poked. We had fun flying the plane for a few minutes. We looked like little kids LOL. Voted up!
Boy ... going to try this for my son.
Really looking interesting.
Wonderful responses everyone! I'm so happy that the plane didn't do any damage to your eyes, cheerfulnuts! And Timothy... I was actually thinking about doing a similar project, so the Powerpoint will be VERY interesting!
I'm so glad you've all liked it so much... or will enjoy your first experiments with it. Please let me know if you come up with any neat variants (as AndrewGee did... I trid it and it was amazing!). And many thanks too for all your vote-ups!!
@Dave Powell...What fun! No more bent pointed front ends! That was always the punishment for too much flying! Ha!
Hey, Dave, congratulations on your Hub of the Day award! I was really excited when I got mine on Unwanted Horses Rescue. I'm having a great time on HubPages -- hope you are, too. We came on about the same time when I found you on Paint By Number fun!
Very neat and simple. Love this thing, but the dogs aren't so sure about it.
Hey Barbsbitsnpieces! Thanks so much and congrats to you too on Unwanted Horses Rescue. I'm "thumbs up" on anything that helps and protects our innocent animal friends... So well done!
I'm definitely having a great time here... with more to come!!
And LiamBean, my cat at first loved to attack the Flying Hole. But now she runs. Could it be the engine noise? ;-)
Congrats Dave on Hub of the day and what a beauty it is!
I have not made a paper plane for years and now you have rekindled my interest. Definitely a project to make with my grandson when he visits tomorrow. Great timing:-)
Twittered out and shared!
Hi agvulpes, Let me know how your grandson reacts to it.. and many thanks for the Twitter!! ;-)
P.S. Even the laziest cat thought this was a fun thing to chase! ;-)
Can't wait to try this with my grandson who is nutty about flying and airplanes in general. This looks very surreal too. Thanks for the idea.
Great hub. I am looking after my nephew next weekend, so guess what we will be doing. Fantastic idea and I love your step by step guide. Voted up and useful.
I resisted visiting this hub because paper planes have been done ad nauseum and most "new" ideas only reinvent the wheel. But THIS plane! Who woulda guessed? Wow! Thanks!! ;D
Just made one for the kids, love it , its amazing, thanks for sharing.Voted up and awesome.
How utterly coo-ool! Have to make this one! Thanks!
DzyMsLizzy-- That's great. MORE exercise for your little buddy!
Gypsy Willow-- "Surreal" describes it perfectly. Let us know how your grandson reacts.
jacqui2011-- Hope your nephew likes it and I appreciate the ratings!
JamaGenee-- I agree 1000%... and am SO glad you decided to take a peek!
paulgc-- You're welcome.. and thank you too for the votes!
and frogyfish-- Let me know how it goes. Up, up, and AWAYYYYYYY!
Great Hub, and the best of all paper airplane designs, nice and simply explained.
I never new this one came from a 50's magazine, but have been making it every couple of years. (Never grew up)
Best distance was from several stories up, and it coasted for about a city block before landing. Also, we used to just tuck the ends of the front edge together to make the crown, rather than fastening with staples, tape, or paper clips. Sometimes the edges would come untucked in flight, and it would look like a flying wing, but it floundered.
Interesting and very entertaining hub.
Thanks FitnessJim... very interesting background from a fellow "Holeonaut"! I forget what the plane was called, but there was an old one from the 50's or 60's that had a wing much like the Flying Hole's... but it was cylindrical. And next time I'm near a high bridge, I'm going to try dropping the "Hole" from there!
And thank you, Richard... Much appreciated!
Dave,
This is a good piece. I'm gonna show my nephew how to make this 'plane'.
He's just under 3 years old and already an expert in using his father's laptop and mother's iPod touch. Maybe a little bit of old fashioned fun will be good for him. If this can get him away from his nursery rhymes' youtube videos for even a few minutes, I will owe you one (or probably more than one).
:o)
Rocky
Hi Rocky... Best of luck with your most worthy endeavor! ;-)
Really nice straight forward and simple instructions Dave.Looking forward to trying this out with my little girl tommorrow evening. Thanks for sharing :) Up & Useful from me!!
I loved this hub and the visual instructions and the rewarding effects it renders. Thanks much.
You're most welcome Rob and ytsenoh... Thanks so much for the appreciation and votes!!
Fantastic hub. I don't usually do well with "different" paper airplane designs, but I will give it a shot :D
Thanks RedElf... And good luck with it! Do let me know how it goes!
These are cool. I've made them before. There is another one where you fold the leading edge and curve the paper but not form it into a loop. It's a little tricky, but when it works it's quite amazing to watch.
Thanks Manna in the wild. I was hoping people would offer some alternative ideas... and I'm going to test this out. I would think there'd be two options: curving it "wider" and curving it "taller." I'll try both... THANKS!!
Ooh this was so cool. I just made one and had so much fun flying it. Being short my flights were not so good at first. Wait till I show my sons, we use to make all kinds of paper planes when they were little. They think all I do is "shop and read boring articles about nothing anybody cares about". I made a bunch of them in different colored left over printer paper. What a cool way to spend a rainy afternoon.
Aw... That's great maqsbrite! I hope they like your colorful air force. Let me know how it went!
Dave...
Congrats on the Hub of the Day...yeah...it would appear as if I have been living under a rock. I have to try this with the roommate's kid. Great idea!
Thanks!
Thomas
You're most welcome, my friend... And let me know how it goes with your test flights!
marellen Level 6 Commenter 8 months ago
Okay, I made one and it reminds of a whirly bird. Don't know if I'm flying it right or not but its cool.