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MAKING THE PERFECT PAPER AIRPLANE

BY CECELIA GOODNOW

c.2006  

Stripped to its essentials, a paper airplane requires two things: a medium-weight piece of paper and a lot of fine-tuning.

But for Ken Blackburn, four-time world champ, launching a winning craft requires months of physical training and the will to fly a little closer to the sun.

See, paper-airplane competition isn’t like floating a piece of notebook paper from the back of the classroom.

It’s more like major-league pitching, as Blackburn demonstrated on a recent stopover in Seattle, where he was promoting the updated version of his best-seller, ‘‘The World Record Paper Airplane Book‘‘ (Workman, $15.95).

It was a rare sunny day at Myrtle Edwards Park -- perfect paper-airplane weather -- as the amiable flyboy started his windup. With his tailored slacks, zip-up jacket and neatly trimmed haircut, he was the very picture of a pleasantly nerdy aeronautical researcher.

‘‘I lean way back,’’ Blackburn explained. ‘‘I get down to ground level and I throw vertically, up to almost 65 to 70 feet high.‘‘

Whereupon he crouched on the soggy field, propelled himself like a human catapult and sent his bird soaring. It arced and wafted and finally fell gracefully into the outstretched fingers of a leafless tree.

Lips set in a patient smile, Blackburn strolled over and jiggled the branches to release his aircraft.

‘‘I’ve fought these trees many times,’’ he said.

Or trees like them, anyway. Blackburn, an aeronautical engineer, spent 19 years in St. Louis at McDonnell Douglas, which merged with Boeing in 1997. He now works at Eglin Air Force Base in Florida.

On his Seattle visit, his demonstration technique was good, but he was going easy on the old flipper. If this were competition, the plane would leave his hand at 60 miles per hour. Maybe not J.J. Putz fast. But fast.

Back in 1998, Blackburn held nothing back as he set out to reclaim his mantle after two competitors bumped him from the ‘‘Guinness Book of World Records.‘‘

With the help of a professional trainer, he worked out six days a week for six months, pulling giant rubber bands to build strength and flexibility in his throwing arm.

The moment of truth came on Oct. 8, 1998, at the Georgia Dome in Atlanta. Blackburn was allowed 10 throws, under the dispassionate gaze of Guinness ‘‘scrutineers.’’ Half his throws were duds, but three set new records.

Finally, on his 10th throw, Blackburn gave it his all and sailed to victory with a record that stands to this day: 27.6 seconds aloft.

Blackburn is 43 now and graying at the temples. Although he hasn’t quit his day job, he has parlayed his prowess into a series of paper-airplane books and calendars that, collectively, have sold more than 2 million copies.

‘‘The World Record Paper Airplane Book,‘‘ first published in 1994, is the fleet leader. It’s now out in a revised and expanded version with lively new text, enhanced graphics and four new paper-airplane models to fold and fly.

Blackburn’s longtime friend, Jeff Lammers, co-designed the book’s 20 airplane models. They’re printed in multiple copies -- 112 in all -- on slick, brightly patterned paper marked with folding lines.

Although paper airplanes can be as simple as a ring or as complex as a bi-wing Camel, Blackburn said there’s nothing wrong with the simple, pointy planes most kids start out on.

‘‘The usual dart airplane will fly pretty well,’’ he said. ‘‘But what most people don’t know is the fine adjustments.‘‘

He used a squat, square plane to set his Guinness records.

‘‘I keep trying to come up with better designs,’’ he said, ‘‘but I keep coming back to the same design I made when I was 12 years old.‘‘

Blackburn grew up in North Carolina, home of the 1903 Wright Brothers flight. Like a lot of boys, he built balsa-wood aircraft and hung model airplanes over his bed.

‘‘But as I got older,’’ he said, ‘‘I came back to paper airplanes -- because it was inexpensive, and it’s really easy to experiment with them.

‘‘For me, the main interest was in flight -- not how complex can I make it. I loved to see stuff fly, float through the air.‘‘

Today Blackburn pilots a small, four-seat aircraft and plays around with radio-controlled planes. He has flown sailplanes, ultralights, hang-gliders and paragliders -- he’s even parachuted and bungee-jumped.

‘‘I enjoy almost anything that flies,’’ he said.

His wife, Lauren, helps him answer e-mails from paper-airplane enthusiasts worldwide who seek his expert opinion on how to soup up their aircraft. You’ll find tips at his Web site, paperplane.org.

Blackburn credits his paper-airplane skills with helping him land his job at Eglin Air Force Base, where he designs surveillance aircraft that are a quarter the size of the 4-foot planes currently used in Iraq.

‘‘We conduct research on small, unmanned air vehicles that will fit in a backpack -- that can be flown over a hill or around a building to see if there’s anything dangerous there,‘‘ he said.

‘‘I work with a great team of engineers and technicians. Some of the things we try work and some don’t.’’

He smiled.

‘‘It’s kind of like paper airplanes.‘‘

TIPS ON THE BEST PAPER AIRPLANES

Ken Blackburn has set four Guinness records for flight duration of a paper aircraft over level ground: in 1985, 16.89 seconds; 1989, 17.2 seconds; 1996, 18.8 seconds, and 1998, 27.6 seconds. Here are some of his tips for smooth sailing:

Best material: Copy-machine paper, ‘‘because it’s largely available and it’s also a good combination of strength and light weight.’’ (Blackburn set his first record with ordinary copier paper.)

Best design: ‘‘Pointy airplanes are best at distance and accuracy. Square airplanes are better at flight duration and aerobatics, because to do a loop you need a lot of wing to create lift.‘‘

Best folds: Fold the lines crisply and precisely, pressing them with a finger or pen. Mushy folds create too much drag and not enough lift, and they’re a leading cause of paper-airplane failure.

Best wing angle: Be sure the wings are level or angled slightly upward in a Y; droopy wings will cause the plane to roll and crash. Gently bend the back edge of the wings to create flaps or ‘‘elevators.’’

Best adjustment: Add a paper clip to the nose for more stability. If that makes the nose too heavy, increase the bend on the wing flaps. Tweaking the design is critical; expect many failures for each success.

Best setting: Indoors offers a controlled environment, making it ideal for competition. ‘‘Outdoors is a great place to get dramatic flights. You can get air currents to catch it and carry it along. My personal best is over a mile.‘‘

Best angle of trajectory: For more time aloft, throw the plane as high in the air as possible. For distance, throw it almost level.

Best takeoff: ‘‘It’s more important to throw smoothly than to throw hard.’’