Forget everything you know about making paper airplanes. Which is to say, forget something about, um, bending the wings up and, ehhh, lift and drag, or whatever. And, agh, dammit, you used to be really good at this, maybe you should put a paperclip on the nose? Would that help? Anyway, forget all that junk! John Collins, who designed the paper airplane that currently holds the world record for distance traveled, has a video with step-by-step instructions on how to make his record-setting plane.
The video was produced by the National Geographic Channel in connection with an episode, also online, of Going Deep With David Rees. The how-to show, hosted by Get Your War On cartoonist and artisanal pencil sharpener David Rees, focuses on getting expert instructions on doing the best possible versions of mundane tasks such as making ice cubes, flipping coins, and climbing trees. “The Suzanne,” named after Collins’ wife, is the headliner of the episode, though National Geographic also has videos of Collins revealing how to make a Tumbling Wing which spins in updrafts and can be made to follow someone; a Boomerang, which looks more or less like a standard paper plane but returns to its thrower; and a Tube, which is a tube—what do you need, a roadmap?
[via MetaFilter]