Our July 9th talk was by Ed Hui PhD, of Teddington School. Born in Hong Kong but a long time resident in the UK, he invented a new solution to the engineering problem of paper aeroplanes which he presented at the Royal Aeronautical Society Annual Conference for Young People. He told the Hawker Association what he told them.

    The paper aeroplane is the world’s most popular form of aviation; it is safe, accessible, unregulated and has numerous manufacturers! It is, however, subject to three unspoken laws: 1. It must be dart shaped with a keel, 2. It must be thrown hard, 3. The rules of origami apply - no cuts or glue.  Ed thought there was something wrong here as all the best gliders have high aspect ratio wings. The Concorde is a poor glider. Editor’s note - John Fozard used to say that the (low aspect ratio wing) Harrier glided like a 2/3 full gin bottle.
    Ed’s engineering brief was that his paper aeroplane should be a high performance glider, not a dart, that it should be capable of stable indoor free flight, and be made easily and quickly from normal office supplies. So he devised the Paperang which is folded from a sheet of A4 paper using scissors and one staple. It is a flying wing with a  span of 11 ½ inches, a chord of about 2 inches and a leading edge sweep of  some 22 degrees. It has no keel but is folded to give a stiff leading edge spar. It is held in its folded shape with the staple. When carefully, and accurately, folded an aerofoil shape is naturally formed but washout is added and by bending at the staple a dihedral angle may be created. When trimmed, by gently adjusting the shape, the Paperang flies fast and flat, as demonstrated by Ed.