Z H Making paper aeroplanes is fun, but they don’t last long and depreciate very quickly. Here, you can learn how to craft an easy, enjoyable, long-lasting, and high-quality balsa plane which is much sturdier. It’s so easy, even your children could make it. Best of all, you could make 3 or even 4 planes with the materials listed below, for under $15 or £10!
This is surely a good activity during lockdown for children and parents to enjoy.
Here’s the printable template:
HOW TO MAKE A BALSA GLIDER
What you will need:
- 1 balsa strip 3.2mm x 100mm x 914mm
- 1 balsa strip 2.4mm x 100mm x 914mm
- Blue tac/ play clay
- Craft knife
- Pencil
- Metric ruler
- Wood glue
Instructions:
- With the 3.2mm thick balsa strip, draw and cut out a fuselage. It should be 270mm long and maximum 10mm thick, shaped like this:
- Next, draw and cut out two wings using the 2.4mm thick balsa strip. Each wing should be 185mm long, with the longest end at 60mm while the shortest is 40mm:
- Using the same 2.4mm wood, cut out the horizontal stabilizers. It should be cut as ONE piece. It should be 125mm long, 45mm wide and each edge should be 25mm long.
- Using the 3.2mm wood, cut out the rudder to be 40mm long and 55mm tall:
- Finally, glue the pieces as shown below:
- At the end, add some weight to the nose for it to fly
