a big, dramatic, personal rivalry. It’s more of an endless determination by two superbly talented fliers to become, and remain, the best in the world.
Their planes are very different. Time aloft planes need to have the biggest wings possible while still having enough weight in the front to climb straight up and enough stiffness to survive the throw. Blackburn uses planes that are almost square, with no nose ahead of the leading edge and small triangular wingtip rudders. Toda uses planes with a more pointed nose, a belly-button flap under the wings, and a sturdy lock-fold holding the nose together. And they are much smaller, using only half a sheet of A4 paper. Toda’s planes, first the Sky King, and then the even more specialized Zero Fighter, have caught on with young contenders around the world because they are consistent and easy to adjust.
Blackburn uses ordinary copier paper for his record planes, but Toda uses a special bagasse paper, made from sugar cane pulp, that is exceptionally light and stiff. He tried more than 200 types of paper before finding it, and when he did, he cornered the market. The magic paper is his alone.
Takuo Toda’s “Zero Fighter”
Ken Blackburn’s “World Record Paper Airplane”
Blackburn’s strength has been the training he did. For half a year before each attempt, he would spend an hour a day, six days a week, doing weight training and squats, and then another hour folding and flying airplanes. By contrast, Toda did little more than diet. His planes and his elegant throwing form have made anything more strenuous unnecessary. Blackburn uses brute power, which his plane has to absorb; Toda’s smooth throw accelerates the plane cleanly. It’s the difference between big surf and a tsunami.
Toda’s form
Blackburn’s form
Going the Distance
More than the record for time aloft, the record for the longest distance flown gets at the very nature of what counts as flight. Is a tightly wadded ball of paper a “paper airplane?” Is a twisted screw of paper? Or how about a dart with wings folded so many times they produce no discernable lift? Where do you draw the line?
In fact, though, wads and darts of paper don’t fly as far as a well-designed plane, because they can’t glide to stretch out the flight after the initial speed wears off.
John Collins was sure he had a great airplane. It flew straight and far, and a little tweaking, some very stiff paper and the careful use of tape made it even better. His problem was throwing it. When he put his strength into it, the plane fluttered and crashed. So he got a talented thrower to help him. Joe Ayoob had been a football quarterback. With a bit of training, he could make smooth flights that just ducked under the rafters of the hangar they used. And it was enough: on the day of the record attempt, the design, paper and throw all came together!
Tony Felch used a very thickly folded dart with almost no wings for his flights. But they would probably not pass the “fewer than four rolls” rule in place now. Nor would the cones and twists favored by Red Bull contestants. Stephen Krieger and John Collins both used planes with quite large wings; no doubt that’s the way to go now!
| Distance Records Over the Years | ||
| 1979 | 140’ 2” | Tony Felch, on August 9 |
| 1982 | 155’ 7” | Eugene Sykes, on February 5 |
| 1985 | 164’ 4” | James Zongker, on March 28 |
| 1985 | 193’ 0” | Tony Felch, on May 21, with his dart-like “Nemesis” design |
| 2003 | 207’ 4” | Stephen Krieger, on September 6, with his “Avenger” design |
| 2012 | 226’ 10” | John Collins and Joe Ayoob, on February 26, with Ayoob throwing Collins’ “Suzanne” design |
| Who will be next? Will it be you? |
Stephen Krieger’s “Avenger.” Photo courtesy of John Collins.
John Collins’ “Suzanne.” Photo courtesy of John Collins.
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