Sep
20
“The Klutz Book of Paper Airplanes” by Doug Stillinger
Filed Under Book reviews, Stationery Lover's Life
If you love nice paper, but are consumed with guilt for wasting it, making paper planes is a tremendous way of giving your scribbled-on sheets some more life. Seriously, try suggesting it. The child (or forever-young adult) in your life will think you’re The. Coolest. Thing.
If you know only one plane design, and even that doesn’t fly very well, “The Kluts Book of Paper Airplanes” will save you from the imminent crash. It even comes with 40 sheets of paper printed with pretty designs, just so that you, the paper lover, have something to covet while the junior masters of origami are testing their engineering mettle.
What’s inside.
First of all, we get a reference table, in which we’re introduced to the 10 paper plane models and their characteristics. Difficulty (from 1 to 5) and the number of folds needed (up to 15) will give you the idea of what you’re getting into, whereas flight speed, distance and time aloft lure you with untold rewards for when the project is finished.
The planes are of three types: Dart, Glider and Stunt. (There is also a solitary Toy, which looks pretty but doesn’t fly as well). The differences between the types, as well as some general instructions for launching each type, get a chapter of their own. Apparently, “the trick is to figure out what type of plane you’re throwing, and how you want it to fly. Then, give it the launch it needs to get there… The way the plane is designed, it will naturally ‘like’ certain angles and speeds, but not the others.” The pictures explain it all pretty clearly, though getting it right will need some practice, of course.
The instructions for folding each plane are clear, well-illustrated, and not too hard to follow. Our Young Guy - aged 8, and not very patient with crafts - needed help only with the most difficult plane, “The Hammer” (“time aloft: 4.8 sec; distance: 102 feet”), and we the grown-ups encountered no difficulty at all. The planes came out looking sleek and flying great even with minimal practice.
At the back of the book there’s a pocket with beautifully designed A4 sheets of paper: twenty designs, two sheets of each. Try not to start filching them from your child right away, though I can see a paper lover being tempted. My favourite was this one:
Young Guy favoured these two:
Although the rest of the designs are equally pretty, and very pleasant to the touch, a green-minded person would have no problem getting the same results with plain paper than was already headed for recycling.
How we tested it.
The book came on holiday with us this year, and became the Young Guy’s favourite reading matter for the whole of our week away. He tried out all ten models of planes, and made several of his favourite types (the Hammer and the Headhunter). When we asked if he would let us recycle these and make new ones at home, rather than carry the whole fleet back, there were tears of grief in his eyes when he said “Leave them if they’re too heavy.” (The planes came home; we’re not that feeble or cruel.)
We haven’t tried scaling down the models with paper of different sizes, but I can see trying it out some time with used up sheets from my university notes.
All in all, the book has proved to be a fantastic source of entertainment, provided us with a stream of nearly-free toys, and gave me some pretty paper to love and stroke. Result.
(If it’s time for frugal entertainment, check out “Fifteen Ways to Have Cheap Fun With Your Kids Using a $1 End Roll of Paper“: there are some more cool ideas on how to pass on your love of paper to the kids.)
Get your own.
If you would like to join in the fun, get “The Klutz Book of Paper Airplanes” here.
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Now proudly pitching a tent at the First Book Review Blog Carnival.
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I used to have endless fun with paper airplanes and I have at least two paper airplane books. Do you remember the Scientific American Paper Airplane Contest?
Also, while at Kidlit08 in Portland, and staying with a young friend of mine, we had a great paper airplane session using a book like the one you reviewed.
I love this book! Did you know that you can also order just the sheets? It adds a touch of class to an otherwise plain paper airplane.
I’ve been folding papers since I was very little. I’ve already folded all 50 paper airplanes found at:
http://www.paperairplaneshq.com