How to Make the UltraStratoEagle Paper Airplane

Fast, long range and versatile, the UltraStratoEagle paper airplane is a refined variant of the Turbo StratoEagle, meant as a simpler alternative to the similar (and admittedly slightly superior) Vulcan series aircraft like the Turbo StratoVulcan, Turbo UltraVulcan and Super ThunderVulcan.

The concept behind the UltraStratoEagle preceded the aircraft's design by many months; it simply took me a while to design, as my focus was aimed elsewhere. The UltraStratoEagle itself was designed in early August 2014, using techniques and design features that had been developed for the Vulcan family. With these improvements, the UltraStratoEagle performed significantly better than the Turbo StratoEagle on which it was based. With these gains in performance, the new prototype performed similar to the Vulcan series, and after flight testing was completed, I decided it was worthy of an instructable so it could be serve as an alternative or supplement to the latter.

TAA USAF Designation: F266-4

Step 1: Materials

Required:
1 Piece of 8.5 by 11 inch Paper

Tape

Ruler

Pencil

Scissors

Step 2: Length, Leading Edge and Nose Folding

Fold your paper in half length-wise. Then make a mark 1 inch above the center crease along the front of paper. Then pull the paper down so that the crease stretches from the mark you just made and the corner of the paper on the other side. Repeat on the other side. Fold the overhanging parts back over the other parts of the airfoil folds and then fold these as shown. Tuck these folds beneath the airfoil as directed. Then refold and tuck the airfoils themselves as shown.

Step 3: Nose, Wing and Winglet Folding

Pull the nose down to the trailing edge, then pull the nose back so its tip touches the crease you just made. After this is done, pull the crease that results from this second fold up to that of the first. After this is done, pull the nose back to this crease. Measure 1 inch above the center fold in the fuselage, then measure 1 inch inwards from the wingtips along the trailing edges. Fold the wings down at the 1 inch mark, aligning their trailing edges with that of the fuselage. Likewise, fold the winglets at their 1 inch mark also.

Step 4: Taping

Tape your UltraStratoEagle at its front, leading edges, back and across its wing root near the trailing edge and at the wing-airfoil joints as shown. Prepare it for test flights that will be necessary for determining what trim is needed (if any).

Step 5: Flight

Similar to its predecessors and the Vulcan series, the UltraStratoEagle is a dart shaped airplane with a big wing. As a result, launches can be conducted at neutral or positive attitudes at moderate to high speeds. Determine what trim (if any) is necessary by conducting some test flights at various speeds and launch angles for best performance. Additional applicable surfaces include flaps, slats, ailerons, elevators, elevons, rudders and air brakes. Enjoy!