abstract

Many years ago (circa 1994, I think) I was gifted a Whitewings paper airplane assembly kit. Sadly, I don't know which volume, and I no longer have any of the planes, but I do recall one thing - they were a blast to fly.

Recently my kids started experimenting with paper airplanes, many folded from the excellent designs published by John Bringhurst in my copy of his work "Planes, Jets, and Helicopters" from 1993. However, most of the designs in that book while fun to fold and fly, don't work well out of doors. I remembered Whitewings planes from my youth and decided to pick up a couple of volumes to play with- they are very much "outdoor" planes.

Sadly, the vast majority of Whitewings designs are long out of print. The only new kits I can find carrying the name are paper and balsa kits designed for educational programs. The original all paper and paper and balsa kits can only be found as used (often partial or incomplete) or new old stock.

And there's the dilemma. Whitewings are made to be flown, not just collected. But cutting up your kits to build and fly paper planes that will inevitably be lost or destroyed in turn destroys your collection that may not be able to be replaced.

So, what to do? A bit of low-level piracy.¹ Making high-quality digital copies that can be re-printed, re-cut, and re-flown. That part isn't terribly challenging these days. The true challenge is material selection. The original kits were printed on card stock - but what size? How about weight? Grain direction? Caliper? Finish texture? I suspect when Yasuaki Ninomiya designed the planes that would become Whitewings kits in the 70's there was some thought or care put into the material choice. But even if it was an afterthought, replicating the feel and performance of the original designs would depend on proper modern material replacements.

a measured approach

I couldn't find much on the way of specifics on Whitewings materials searching online. So, since I was planning on picking up some kits anyway, the logical move would be to find original kits in good condition and make some measurements and observations of the material.

I'm starting with two kits- one early, and one late. I found a copy of "Excellent Paper Airplanes Volume 1" from 1980 in used and mostly complete condition and a sealed, new old stock "Pre-cut Volume 2 Excellent Gliders" kit from 1992.

The 1980 kit is all paper and uses metal launch hooks. Some of the models also use lead foil to add balance weight². The 1992 kit is paper and balsa and uses a notch in the nose for the rubber band launcher. At some point I'll pick up a couple more of the paper kits and update this article. See updates below.

I'm including specs for some modern card stocks in the right density and caliper range. Grain direction is also a consideration. Whitewings use paper with the grain in line with the long axis indicated as "bend-resistant direction" on the kit pages. The papers listed should have grain in the long direction from what I can find. Reproduced components should be laid out using the same orientation as the originals to maintain the proper "bend-resistance".

Update July 11 2024

I have ordered a copy of "Excellent Paper Airplanes Volume 4 - Future of Flight" published in 1990.

Update July 12 2024

We've successfully flown a laser cut replica of a paper and balsa glider dubbed 307x-1 - for details on the process see the paper airplanes worklogs under the r & d section of the site. The latest design uses a paper and balsa laminated fuselage and 230gsm (85lb) Joyberg brand card stock which matches the original card stock specs noted below.

Update July 18 2024

History of Jet Fighters Volume 5 substituted for Volume 4.

data

Units
GSM = grams per square meter, common measurement of paper mass
Caliper = paper thickness in thousandths of an inch or Mil (not millimeters). So caliper 9 = .009" or 9 Mil I used a digital caliper to measure material thickness/diameters
For measuring paper and balsa sheet masses I used a digital scale with milligram accuracy. I measured the mass of the paper sheets by measuring 4 sheets together and averaging the mass.

Excellent Paper Airplanes Volume 1 - 1980

Two page designs use JIS B4 (257mm × 364mm) folded in half to JIS B5 (182mm × 257mm)
Three page designs include a single sheet of JIS B5 (182mm × 257mm) in addition to the folded sheet of B4.

JIS B5 Sheet area = 0.046774 m² (calculated)
mass = 10.3 gm/sheet (measured)
density = 220gsm (calculated +/- 10% for measurement errors)
caliper = 10 Mil

These designs also use metal hooks for launching and in some cases lead foil for weight balance. Later kits leave out the hooks and foil. I will add measurements for both. Added:

Lead Foil thickness = 0.38 mm, 0.035"

Wire Hooks wire diameter = 0.88 mm, 19 gauge

I measured a large paperclip on my desk. It measured 0.98mm diameter. It should make a fine substitute for creating replacement hooks.

Pre-cut Volume 2 Excellent Gliders - 1992

Designs use single sheets, 170mm x 256mm
Sheet dimensions do not match JIS or ISO paper sizes. The paper components are die cut and I suspect the overall sheet size is a product of the die cutting process and are cut from larger sheets.

Paper
sheet area = 0.04352 m² (calculated)
mass = 10.5 gm/sheet (measured)
density = 230gsm (calculated +/- 10% for measurement errors)
caliper = 10.5 Mil

Balsa
thickness = 2.4 mm (3/32 in) (measured)
area = 80 mm x 271 mm
mass = 12.36 gm
grain type = A
density = 0.236 gm/cm³ (14lb/ft³) medium/heavy weight

model files

local

I created these scans from kits I've purchased. My scans include models and the assembly and flight instructions. If you are interested in the more technical aspects of paper aircraft flight, design, and testing then I highly recommend seeking out an original physical copy of an assembly and instructions manual. You can find partial/used Whitewings kits on eBay for reasonable prices that include them. Dr. Ninomiya's notes are extensive and include information on achieving maximum flight duration and even a primer on aerodynamics that can be used to design your own planes. Look for the all paper kits - the pre-cut balsa and paper kits include a manual, but it isn't as detailed.

1980 Original Series AG1500
1992 History of Jet Fighters AG1504

external

Various online sources for models. The designs on the Canon Creative Park website do include basic flight/tuning instructions, but aren't nearly as comprehensive as the manuals included with full kits.

Canon Creative Park Paper Airplanes - Look for models with the Whitewings logo.³ The downloads include basic instruction sheets.

Whitewings Plans - A selection of models from a variety of series. Most are from Future of Flight (1990) (AG 1503), History of Jet Fighters (1992) (AG 1504), and a variety of Racer models. The scans are good quality and include a copy of the Assembly and Flight instructions from the Future of Flight series. Some of the racers, like 525 Sparrow, are reworks of some designs from the Original Series, in this case 504 Dolphin. The racers are relatively simple designs and basic assembly steps apply to models from various series.

worklogs and flight tests

Pre-cut Volume 2 - Excellent Gliders 1992 AG662

Original Series - Excellent Paper Airplanes Volume 1 1980 AG1500

research and material sources

Info
An Amateur’s Guide to Collecting, Building, & Flying Whitewings Paper Airplanes - BlueGrassRoots

Balsa
Balsa Grain Classification - Specialized Balsa Wood, LLC
Balsa Density, Grain, and Grade - Model Aviation

Card Stock
Accent Opaque
80lb cover = 216gsm 10mil
Classic Crest
80 lb Cover 216 G/M2 Caliper 10.5 190 PPI
Classic Crest Recycled
80 lb Cover 216 G/M2 Caliper 10.5 190 PPI
Joyberg 85lb White Cardstock
230gsm Cover Cardstock 85 Lb Caliper 10.5 (measured)