Flying high on a sheet of paper

Making good paper planes requires some mechanics and motor skills too

Making and flying paper planes is more than just child’s play. And it was evident at the Delhi qualifier of the third edition of ‘Red Bull Paper Wings’, a paper plane designing and flying contest. With eyes fixed on world finals to be held in Austria, more than 150 youngsters participated in the contest organised at New Delhi Railway Station at Airport Express Line.

The event aimed at engaging students to think of innovative ways of folding paper and designing an aerodynamically capable plane. The participants were judged across three categories--longest distance, maximum flight time and aerobatic flight.

The contestants had to make planes on the spot using an A4 sheet of paper. One of the participants, Mariya Fatchullah, a student of Indraprastha College for Women says it requires some mechanics and skills to make paper planes stay in air for a long duration. “It appears very easy, but one needs some skills to make it stay in air and go far. You have to fold the paper at certain degrees. It also helps in improving motor skills,” she says.

Satyendra Singh from Indian Institutes of Technology (IIT), Delhi won in the category of flying a paper plane the longest distance. His paper plane flew a distance of 32-metre. Clocking a time of seven seconds in the air,  the plane by Jubin Jacob from School of Planning and Architecture won in the maximum flight time category. There was a tie between Anupam Dixit, businessman and Mohit Lakhwani, a student of Picasso Animation College for aerobatics category.

“Since childhood I liked making and flying paper planes. When I was in Std V, I had won a prize for flying a paper plane in the longest distance category. I think that the design of my paper planes is the best. I am confident of winning the finals also,” says Satyendra, whose paper plane flew the longest distance.

 Captain Ginotra, a pilot with Alliance Airlines for the last 15 years, who judged the contest, says, “I was really glad to be present at the contest. I think it is a unique concept which brings the art of making and flying paper planes on a competitive platform and builds interest in flying. It also gives the City’s youngsters an awesome opportunity to showcase their talent,” he says.

The contest will also be held in Mumbai, Bangalore, Pune, Chennai and Hyderabad. Three winners from these cities will compete against each other at national qualifier to be held in the Capital in first week of March. The best three participants under each of the three categories will compete at the 2012 world finals at Salzburg, Austria in May. Around 81 countries will participate in the world finals.