As someone interested in aeronautics, I am fascinated by how it seems that these first designs were not inspiring full-sized aircraft until the jet age. How long ago did simple "gliders" appear, I wonder, such as might have inspired people like the Wright Brothers? This week in my alternate reality as a Scout Leader, we were making paper planes, and I made one that is basically a flying rectangle - one side of an A4 folded over and over to give a good weight, then a fold to bring the ends together to give it some dihedral for lateral stability, and finally two small fins folded up on each wingtip for directional stability. I can imagine a model like that inspiring the early aircraft pioneers, with their straight wings at 90-degrees to the body. I can't imagine the paper dart doing the same.
I'm not sure there's any evidence that paper models 'inspired' the early aeronautical pioneers. I suspect it may have been the other way around. Everything I know about the history of early paper planes is recorded at https://www.origamiheaven.com/historyofpaperplanes.htm. The entry for 1894 might be worth reading in the context of your 'flying rectangle'. (For some reason Substack won't let me add a hyperlink to this reply. Sorry ... you'll need to cut and paste the link into your browser.)
Most don't know the waterbomb until I teach it. Then their faces light up when they understand what it is used for :-)
Fortune tellers they all know here. It seems that they are taught in those colleges that teach the pedagogues going to work in kindergarten and preschool. Thus I teach a lot of Spanish boxes, as those basically are the fortune teller + four pleatings, and hence easy to remember for them.
As someone interested in aeronautics, I am fascinated by how it seems that these first designs were not inspiring full-sized aircraft until the jet age. How long ago did simple "gliders" appear, I wonder, such as might have inspired people like the Wright Brothers? This week in my alternate reality as a Scout Leader, we were making paper planes, and I made one that is basically a flying rectangle - one side of an A4 folded over and over to give a good weight, then a fold to bring the ends together to give it some dihedral for lateral stability, and finally two small fins folded up on each wingtip for directional stability. I can imagine a model like that inspiring the early aircraft pioneers, with their straight wings at 90-degrees to the body. I can't imagine the paper dart doing the same.
I'm not sure there's any evidence that paper models 'inspired' the early aeronautical pioneers. I suspect it may have been the other way around. Everything I know about the history of early paper planes is recorded at https://www.origamiheaven.com/historyofpaperplanes.htm. The entry for 1894 might be worth reading in the context of your 'flying rectangle'. (For some reason Substack won't let me add a hyperlink to this reply. Sorry ... you'll need to cut and paste the link into your browser.)
Actually the link works just fine when I click on it.
Thanks for letting me know!
Wonderful. The model is also unique in that it is still being folded by school children today.
Yes, that's a thought! I wonder if children still fold waterbombs and fortune tellers as well?
Most don't know the waterbomb until I teach it. Then their faces light up when they understand what it is used for :-)
Fortune tellers they all know here. It seems that they are taught in those colleges that teach the pedagogues going to work in kindergarten and preschool. Thus I teach a lot of Spanish boxes, as those basically are the fortune teller + four pleatings, and hence easy to remember for them.
Good to know. Thank you.