How to Make a Dart Paper Airplane

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Looking for a nice way to entertain yourself on a boring day? The dart paper airplane is easy to make and flies great. Just follow one of these methods and you'll be sure to make a paper airplane that flies farther and straighter than a paper airplane made in any other way.

Making a Standard Dart Paper Airplane

Start with a standard letter-sized piece of paper that measures 8 1/2 inches by 11 inches (A4, printer paper). This size is usually easy to find, as it's the one used in most printers.

• Make sure that the opposite corners match up to each other perfectly, so that each side is exactly the same.

Crease the paper down the middle and then open the piece of paper back up. Lay the paper down so that one of the short sides is closest to you and so that the raised part of the center crease points up. [1] X Research source

• Once folded, these two corners should meet each other at the center crease but not cross it. Keep these corners folded in.
• The point made at the top of your paper by these corners being folded down will eventually form the front of your dart paper airplane.

• These folds basically make your top point skinnier (and stronger) and the outer edges longer (from about 5 inches long to about 10 inches long).
• Remember to keep the edges lined up with the center crease but don't go over it. You are going to refold the paper airplane along this fold again, so you need to have symmetrical folds on both sides for proper balance.

Refold your paper airplane along the center line. If you refold the center line and both of your sides are totally smooth, you have folded it the wrong way. Open the paper airplane back up and make the centerfold in the opposite direction, so the previous folds are not concealed inside.

• Have either of the sides facing up. It doesn't matter which one because you will do the same steps to both sides.

• Repeat this same process on the other side as well.

• Your finished airplane should be about 12 inches long and 4 inches wide at the widest point of the wings.

• If your airplane has problems flying, experiment with changing its weight distribution. Attach a small paper clip to the bottom crease, pointing up toward the wings. Try positioning it in different locations up and down the center crease to determine where the weight helps the most.

Making a Deluxe Dart Paper Airplane

Start with a standard letter-sized piece of paper that measures 8 1/2 inches by 11 inches (A4, printer paper). This size is usually easy to find, as it's the one used in most printers.

Grab the top left-hand corner and fold it down and to the right on the other side of the paper. Once folded, the original top of the paper should be aligned with the right side. Make a crease along this fold.

Grab the top right-hand corner of the paper and fold it down and to the left. This point should meet the left side of the paper at the very end of the first crease you made. Make a crease along this fold.

• Remember to make a crease along this fold.

Flip your plane over and repeat the previous fold on the opposite side. Remember to crease this fold as well.

Fold each side in half again, bringing the long edge of each side down to meet the center crease. You will end up with two very long sides and small points coming out of the short end.

• These folds may be hard to make, as they will result in really skinny long wings, but will create a very fast and straight flying paper airplane.

Open up these last folds halfway. Hold the airplane so that the wings stick out and you are holding the body of the plane.

• Do not go all the way across and don't start from the very tip. Start where the corners of the tape stay within the wings. The tape is simply there to keep the wings together.

Community Q&A

You may have too many creases on the piece of paper. The more wrinkled the paper, the shorter the distance the plane will fly.

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It is called a dart plane because you throw it the same way you would throw darts at a dartboard. Also, they fly very straight and quite far as a dart would.

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Maybe your paper's length or width is wrong. It could also be a problem with the weight or texture of the paper you used.

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Tips from our Readers

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• If you replace steps 5-6 with folding into the center, your plane will be sturdier.
• If your plane keeps crashing, bend the back edges slightly upward.

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About This Article

wikiHow is a “wiki,” similar to Wikipedia, which means that many of our articles are co-written by multiple authors. To create this article, 61 people, some anonymous, worked to edit and improve it over time. This article has been viewed 283,813 times.

To make a dart paper airplane, start by folding a piece of printer paper in half lengthwise. Next, open the paper back up and fold down 2 top corners on 1 of the short sides so they meet at the crease in the middle. To make the point stronger, fold the edges down again so they meet at the middle crease. For the next stage, refold the middle crease to make a long triangle before folding down each long side. Finally, open up the 2 last creases halfway to make the wings. For tips on how to make a deluxe paper airplane, read on!