Paper airplanes fly due to four main forces: drag, gravity, thrust and lift. Drag and gravity work together to ground the plane while also slowing it down.

The actual science behind how paper airplanes fly is much the same as with real ... David Rush of the USA holds the fastest ...

Paper airplanes fly due to four main forces: drag, gravity, thrust and lift. Drag and gravity work together to ground the plane while also slowing it down.

All fly far and fast, with some even spinning or boomeranging. You also get sheets of paper, complete with dotted guides for folding, that have a nice weight to make well-structured, durable planes.

The world record for the farthest flight by paper airplane was recently broken by three aerospace engineers. Their design was inspired by vehicles that fly faster than the speed of sound.

A paper airplane and its inspiration, the Mitchell U-2 Superwing. Plane image - Gift of Frank X. Marsh. Visit the Smithsonian’s National Air and Space Museum in Washington, DC, or Chantilly ...

How you fold a paper airplane can determine how fast or how far it goes. A lot of people arrive at the best designs through trial, error, and perhaps a little bit of serendipity.