How to make a kickarse paper airplane:
1 - roll a paper tube 3-4 layers thick on a dowel or a straight pen body, 4-5" long or so (play with the length), tape closed
2 - place one or two paperclips in one end of the tube, with single wires outside. Tape them down around the outside. This is the front of the fuselage.
3 - Cut two pieces of paper, with the intent of folding them in the middle, which becomes the front... one that'll be symmetrical across a line in the middle (horizontal stab) and one that'll be just a fin by itself (vertical stab)
4 - when you fold the horizontal stab, don't match the ends, fold it so there's about 1/16" or less difference between the length of the top and bottom sheets. Make a loose crease... then tape the ends together flush. The seam being offset warps the stab into an aerofoil shape... tape it on to the rear of the fuselage with the aerofoil pulling DOWN.
5 - take the vertical stab and fold it symmetrically, loosely to there's no overly sharp crease. Then trim a slight arc shape into the bottom, so the front and back are slightly shorter than the middle. What this does is when tapes to the fuselage, it pulls on the paper and expands the aerofoil. Get this taped on as straight as possible.
6 - Critical part: with everything but the main wing attached, balance the fuselage and make a mark. This is the CG.
7 - Using the same technique as with the horizontal stabilizer, make a main wing and tape it on. Now, here's the catch; the center of lift of the wing is going to be slightly behind the top of the curve in the aerofoil shape. That center of lift needs to be just slightly behind the CG, by 1/8" or so.
Remember the horz stab pulling down? The CL location of the wing is going to try and pull the tail of the plane up, and the horz. stab counteracts. Bend the HSTAB tips up or down to adjust for pitch trim, and fling your airplane about with great vigor.
