The Paper Airplane Book is a great book for any kid with an interest in the science of flight. It teaches not only how to make great paper airplanes, but also about the principles of flight that guide real airplanes, and how to apply those principles to the paper models.

48 pages, with clear black and white illustrations, this book held my interest cover to cover, and would do the same for most kids, I think.

The general pattern is to introduce a concept such as lift, drag, thrust, center of gravity, surface area, stabilizer, etc. The term is defined, and examples given. They show you how to do simple experiments, to illustrate the concept. Most of the experiments require nothing more than paper and air, but others involve ping pong balls, and other simple tools. They explain how the concept is applied to real planes. Then they show you how to apply that concept to your paper airplane.

Example

Here's an example of a simple experiment the kids can do, to help them understand the concepts of lift and surface area:

Place a sheet of paper flat against the palm of your upturned hand. Turn your hand over and push down quickly. You can feel the air pressing against the paper. The paper stays in place against your palm. You can also see the paper's edges pushed back by the air.

Now do the same thing, using a piece of paper crumpled into a ball. This time you'll feel less of a push against your hand. Unless you push down very quickly, the paper will fall to the ground.

The book goes on to explain how in the first case, there's more surface area for the air to press against. Then, with illustrations they show how a plane's wings provide surface area in the same way as the flat paper did.

What about the paper airplanes?

The initial paper airplane they show you how to make is quite simple in nature. Just a few folds in a standard 8.5" x 11" piece of paper. Then as the book goes on, they teach you to make more and more complicated planes by adding more and more of the concepts that have been described. Additional folds, cutouts, and weights are added. Thus as you grow to understand the new concepts, you can see for yourself how they apply, and how your plane's flights improve.

Recommended for any science-minded kid.

Recommended: Yes