Students Break Guinness World Record with a 20-Meter Paper Plane: It Flew 59 Meters
In Italy, a group of students transformed the simple childhood idea of a paper airplane into a colossal engineering project. The giant paper airplane named ICARUS, developed by the team at the University of Pisa, shattered the Guinness World Record with its 20-meter wingspan. The airplane, which flew 59 meters during a test at BolognaFiere, garnered significant attention.
Students at the University of Pisa in Italy have broken the Guinness World Record by constructing the largest paper airplane in the world.
Dubbed ICARUS, this colossal aircraft, with its wingspan of 20.04 meters, is designed to resemble a real aircraft rather than an ordinary paper plane.
The plane, which measures 7 meters in length, weighs in at 28.49 kg. During a trial held at BolognaFiere, ICARUS, launched by a single individual, managed to fly a distance of 59 meters. Consequently, the previous record, which had been in place since 2013, was left in the dust.
The paper airplane was designed based on the logic of a real airplane.
The striking aspect of ICARUS wasn't merely its colossal size, but also its construction technique. The team employed aerodynamic principles used in real aircraft while designing the plane. They spent months working on aspects such as wing structure, balance, weight distribution, and body stiffness.
The giant paper airplane incorporated sections like beams, ribs, leading edge, trailing edge, and tail, typically used in traditional airplane construction. However, all these parts were prepared using only paper and adhesive. The team utilized a layered structure to enhance the durability of the paper.
The objective of the project wasn't just to create a large paper airplane, but to design one that could genuinely fly. Consequently, the students conducted tests on smaller prototypes before transitioning to the final model.
The record required a single person to make the throw.
Just being big wasn't enough for the airplane to set a Guinness record. According to the rules, the airplane had to be launched by a single person from a platform no more than 3 meters high and had to fly at least 15 meters.
ICARUS more than met these conditions. During the trial, the plane glided 59 meters in the air, becoming the new world record holder. The official certificate was presented during the We Make Future event held at BolognaFiere on June 25.
The students' months-long effort demonstrated how correct engineering calculations could transform a seemingly simple child's toy into a massive project. ICARUS proved that even a design made with paper and glue could turn into a serious engineering study requiring knowledge of aerodynamics, balance, and materials.
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