1. KEN BLACKBURN EAA AirVenture 2002
PAPER AIRPLANES
KEN BLACKBURN
EAA AirVenture 2002

2. Paper Airplanes Who is Ken Blackburn? Basics of Flight
The Paper Airplane World Record
Secrets to making great paper airplanes

3. Who is Ken Blackburn Homebuilt Aircraft WWW.PAPERPLANE.ORG
Paper Airplanes
Guinness Record, Time Aloft
27.6 seconds on 10/08/98
World Record Paper Airplane Book
Homebuilt Aircraft
Moni, Formula 1 Air Racer

4. Who is Ken Blackburn Graduated NC State 1985 Aeronautical Engineering
Boeing Engineer to Present
YF-23, F/A-18, T-45, AV-8B, and Missile Programs
Aerodynamic analysis - performance and stability

5. Aircraft Design …
Construction
Structure
Drag
Stability
Launch

6. Applies No Matter the Size
Construction
Structure
Drag
Launch
Stability

7. Forces Of Flight
Lift
Thrust
Drag
Weight

8. LIFT Lift is from fast air over airfoil
Fast air comes from curvature and nose up at an angle
Elevator
Paper airplane elevator keeps nose up at an angle

9. Aerodynamic Comparison
5 Popular paper airplanes
Derive CL & CD from measured flight data
Compare with predicted aerodynamics
Dart1
Dart2
Eagle
Square
World Record

10. Test Method Measure glide angle, time Assume steady glide
Reduce errors via multiple test points
CL range by adjusting elevator settings

11. Example Flight

12. Performance Comparisons
Dart 1
Dart 2
Eagle
L/Dmax= 4.0
CLmax= 0.40
L/Dmax= 3.2
CLmax= 0.50
L/Dmax= 5.8
CLmax= 0.92

13. Performance Comparisons
Square
World Record
L/Dmax= 5.8
CLmax= 0.53
L/Dmax= 6.7
CLmax= 0.64

14. Guinness Record - Time Aloft
1 sheet of paper (some tape allowed)
Indoors
Throw from floor
Timed from leaving hand to contact with any object
Witnesses and news media
Photos and video tape required

15. How I Set the Record Developed the World Record airplane at 13
Set record in seconds
Reset record in seconds
Reset record in seconds
British set record in seconds
Regained record in seconds

16. Paper Airplane Adjustments
“Y” Shape - Lateral stability
Up Elevator - Prevents nose dive
Weight on the Nose - Greater stability

17. The World Record Airplane
From The World Record Paper Airplane Book
Good Duration and Aerobatic Flyer

18. The Count From The Kids’ Paper Airplane Book
Good Distance and Accuracy Flyer
British used similar plane in 1996 to break my record