Stephanie's Site
Flying Paper 'Helicopter' Models Menu Page
The models on this page all share the same proportions. The exact sizes are not critical, as this works in a similar way to natural flying objects such as sycamore or maple seeds.
To launch, hold the model as high as you can, with the two blades lying horizontally, like the cross-bar of a capital T, with the folded body or fuselage dangling below, and pointing straigh down. The model requires a small amount of height to get started.
If this is being used for a school project, try making small variations in the design, such as bigger wings, a smaller body, or different shapes, to see which flies best. Some of these changes will improve the design, but probably at the cost of stability.
PDF Format
- A Single Helicopter on A4 paper
- A Single Helicopter on A3 paper
- Four Helicopters on an A4 sheet (landscape).
Open Office 'Draw' Format
- A Single Helicopter drawing
- Four Helicopters on a single page in landscape format.
This design is closely based on an example shown at the Museum of Flight, at East Fortune, near Edinburgh.
These documents are therefore Free, but may not be used in a commercial environment, including publishing on any other web site - in the latter case, please link to this page, and not to the models themselves.
Examples of the model in flight
The first photo, above, shows a model made from the exact designs found here. The two below are similar, but slightly modified for experimental reasons.
This second photo shows a design very closely based on the design given here, taken approximately one and a half seconds after release.
The third photo, above, shows a design with longer slimmer wings, approximately two seconds after release. This design flies for longer than the standard design, but is harder to fly, and more likely to crash without starting to spin properly.
Other Sites:
- The Erie Copter is another similar design.
- The Roto-Copter looks very similar, and has good instructions on how to fly it.
- The National Museum of Flight at East Fortune Airfield is the new home to Concorde, and many other classic aeroplanes.
