Paper airplanes have been as much a part of our growing up as has been the dream of flying. Many among us have taken this up further into a lifelong hobby. However, learning to make paper planes is not just about creasing the paper at the folds and throwing it up in the air. It is aeronautical science at its most fundamental.

Make a few and see how far you can make them fly. Here are eight DIY websites with instructions to fold different types of paper planes.

1. Fold'NFly

FoldnFly - a website for paper plane crafts

Foldnfly is a dedicated site for paper airplane designs for all skill levels. Every design comes with foldable instructions, level of difficulty, time and distance the plane will stay aloft, and the average time it will stay in the air if thrown by a ten-year old. In addition, a video guide and a printable template accompany each design.

The site is neatly illustrated with large visuals on a uniform background. Here, start by learning folding instructions in the Hangar, gather tips and tricks from the Runway, and discover more about this hobby in the Lounge. Then, for best results, use the filters on the left to narrow down the 48 designs available.

2. Paper Airplanes HQ

Paper Airplanes HQ

You can head straight to the top menu and dive into designs for distance, coolness, ease, and popularity. Otherwise, just take in each of the fifty designs illustrated neatly. All designs come with names (like Falcon, Chinook, or Tornado) and instructions in both text and video.

You might prefer a glider to a fast skimmer. So, I suggest learning one design from all classes of paper airplanes and seeing which ones you like.

3. How Things Fly

How Things Fly - a paper airplane website for kids

How Things Fly is a website created by the National Air and Space Museum of the Smithsonian Institution. This science and engineering website for kids demonstrates the basic principles of flight. The website includes interactive exhibits, videos, and articles that go into the history of aviation and explain how aircraft and spacecraft work.

The activities for kids are the fun part—create your own paper plane by choosing one of the three designs and then learn by doing. You can also take a Distance Challenge and see how far you can make your plane go.

4. Amazing Paper Planes

Amazing Paper Airplanes

Don't let the old-fashioned design turn you away. Amazing Paper Planes is a simple site with an extensive collection of free paper airplane folding instructions, flight tips, and more. You just have to go through the menu on the left to see some of the unique designs... most of which are paper replicas of real planes (and even the space shuttle). Some of them don't fly but are beautiful display models.

Unfortunately, the YouTube channel has a handful of videos only. But the site has enough for anyone who wants to learn how to fold unique paper airplanes.

5. DIY-Magazine

DIY-Magazine - a website for kids crafts and DIY projects

DIY-Magazine isn't only about paper airplanes; it has enough nicely illustrated designs to get you into the hobby. The lessons are for all age groups. Each paper airplane tutorial is explained with easy-to-follow instructions. If your child is interested in the craft, make them take it further with the Extra Tips section below each instruction.

The site hasn't updated the collection of paper airplanes since last year, but the 21 designs on view should be enough to keep you engaged.

6. Instructables

Instructables

You can make anything on Instructables, the web's premier site for DIY-yers. So, why not paper airplanes of all types? As it's one of the best communities for DIY arts, crafts, and everything handmade, the search bar is the first place to go to. You will find thousands of tutorials like this one which is a collection of impressive paper airplanes.

Use the filters to narrow the search results before you sift through the projects. And if you are interested in diving deeper, there are tutorials on other types of flying machines like helicopters.

7. Alex’s Paper Airplanes

This is an old site but still a great step-by-step guide on how to craft paper airplanes, paper helicopters, and gliders. The paper planes are categorized as – easy to make, medium difficulty, and hard to make. However, the 25 varieties on view should keep you folding and flying away for ages. The site also contains YouTube video instructions on how to properly make flyable models.

Alex Schultz also has put up a page of other sites on paper planes; not all the links are on paper planes though. Some links are also broken.

8. Reddit: Paper Airplanes

Reddit-paper airplanes

Communities like Reddit are some of the best places to improve your skills with paper airplanes. This subreddit is alive and among the Top 10% of the communities on the social site. You can ask for tips and feedback and then show off your designs. The stories of success and failure also help to show that getting a perfect flight from your airplane takes a lot of trial and error.

You can also check out the Origami and papercraft subreddits for tutorials. Don't forget to use the Reddit filters to get to the top posts, which also may be the most upvoted tutorials on the feed. Many of the posts are shared from YouTube, which is again another ocean you can dip into for design lessons.

Paper Airplanes Isn't Just a Hobby for Kids

The paper airplane distance record of 88.318 meters (290 ft) is a part of the Guinness World Records. It took the team six months of work and 20 different prototypes to optimize the design. Even mathematical simulations and 3D design were part of the project that went into that flight. This kind of toil amply proves that making paper airplanes is a serious hobby. And why now — designing your own paper airplanes combines the best of science and engineering with the fun of flight. All it needs is a bunch of A4-sized paper.