On Friday morning, an attempt to make history took flight: John Collins, otherwise known as The Paper Airplane Guy, tried to fly a paper airplane further than any paper airplane has flown before.
John and his "arm"—former arena football quarterback Joe Ayoob—had 10 attempts to break the current world record from the sprawling Pomeroy Sports Centre in Fort St. John, British Columbia. While several made it beyond the previous world record that Collins broke in 2012, none flew the distance of Collins' current world record of 226 feet and 10 inches. Collins, though, was undeterred. "We had some planes we thought could do it, but you know, that's why it's a world record," said Collins. "We had a great day, but not the best day ever, and that's exactly what makes world records so incredible."
With a moniker like The Paper Airplane Guy, it should come as no surprise that Collins takes the business of paper airplanes seriously. Besides the world record, his vigorous studies of aerodynamics and origami have led to the creation of a "boomerang" paper airplane that flies back to him and a "bat plane" that can flap its wings in mid air by itself. Earlier this year, Collins showed WIRED exactly how he made the world-record breaking plane.
In the days leading up to the attempt, Collins folded dozens of paper airplanes while Ayoob performed hours of practice. Collins says it takes about 25 minutes to make a competition-ready plane, and showed up with no less than 24 on the day of the attempt. That meant very little sleep, because when it comes to these perfected planes John says the fresher they are, the better.
WIRED livestreamed the event above, and on our Facebook and YouTube pages. If you want to attempt the world record yourself, you can learn how to fold five high-flying stunt paper airplanes like a pro.
