Paper Airplanes: Models to Build and Fly

Presents information on aerodynamic principles and flying techniques along with instructions for making twelve different paper airplanes

Grade 5 Up?Prefaced by a detailed discussion of aerodynamic principles, this slender collection of fliers begins with the paper "dart" that all children seem to know at birth, then proceeds through a dozen increasingly complex designs to a challenging model of Oscar Lilienthal's fan-winged glider?complete with pipe-cleaner "pilot." Kelly makes free use of scissors, paper clips, and tape in his directions, though only a few of the finished models depicted show signs of the latter two, and tracing templates, several of which have to be enlarged on a copier before use. Two gliders require the use of a knife, for which the only safety precaution is "Be sure to protect your work surface." The heart- and shamrock-shaped paper planes make unusual holiday craft ideas, but next to encyclopedic books such as John Bringhurst's Planes, Jets and Helicopters (Tab, 1993) and E. Richard Churchill's Fantastic Flying Paper Toys (Sterling, 1990), this book is a supplementary purchase for all but the most comprehensive subject collections.?John Peters, New York Public Library
Copyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc.