Requirements

  1. Make a paper airplane and fly it five times. Record the flight distance and time.
  2. Make a paper airplane of a different design and fly it five times. Record the flight distance and time.
  3. Compare and contrast with two paper airplanes by distance and flight times.
  4. Build a flying machine that is not a paper airplane.

Tips and Tricks

  • In my experience, many Scouts of this age still need help with making paper airplanes. Have a parent or guardian work with them on this activity.
  • The Smithsonian Institute has a wonderful site to make printable paper airplanes which may speed things along and make it much easier for the Scouts.
  • For Requirement 4, the easiest and most affordable flying machine is probably the Wolf Copter found on the Resources link below.

Special Needs Considerations

  • Scouts with various special needs may need assistance, not just Scouts with physical limitations (e.g. attention-deficit disorders).
  • There is a phone website/app that is pretty awesome to build a virtual paper airplane and send it around the world.