Red Bull revives the primeval hobby of flying paper planes
Almost every person around the world is probably familiar with building and flying paper planes. It is a practice that takes place around the world, and it is usually done by children who build their first paper planes to ward off boredom. In recent years
it has grown in popularity among adults as well and competitions have started to take place around the world. With the introduction of Red Bull into the mix, the ancient activity looks all set to enter into a new age of glory. Flying paper planes is a worldwide
phenomenon and even the new event set up by Red Bull has seen competitors from all around the world take part in it. The sport looks all set to become the next big thing for fans of unconventional sports.
The history of paper planes can be traced to ancient China and ancient Japan. There are reports of people in China folding paper to make planes that were able to glide over distances. In Japan around the same time people invented the paper folding art of
origami that is practiced even to this day in many parts of the world. People must have at some point folded paper to resemble a plane and flown them for fun. Today no one knows what the first paper planes looked like or how well they were able to fly.
The history of paper planes then continues down the ages until we come to Leonardo Da Vinci who wrote about the building of a flying plane made from parchment, and he even made some of his early designs for parachutes and flying machines out of paper. The
pioneers of flying, the Wright Brothers, were early users of paper planes and they perfected the design of their final aeroplane with the use of paper models between 1899 and 1903. The innovative brothers built numerous paper models and tested them in wind
tunnels to see the effect that wind drag and aerodynamics had on their designs. Today paper plane designs have become very technical and sophisticated and even origami versions of paper planes are becoming increasingly intricate and specialised.
Paper plane competitions were unsanctioned and unofficial affairs with contests to build and fly paper planes taking place all over the world. But in 2006, the energy drink company Red Bull got involved in the recreational activity and turned it into a proper
sport. They held the first Red Bull Paper Wings contest that was set up to showcase the best designs in paper plane technology, and for this purpose three separate events were held. The three different disciplines are largest distance, longest airtime and
acrobatics. The contest takes place in 80 countries around the world and brings together some of the brightest and best aero designers from all over. The format of the competition is that in each country taking part, national finals will be held to find the
three best designs that will then represent the country in the world finals.
It is truly an international event and brings together a sense of fun, innovation, design and techniques to find the best paper planes and their designers from all over the planet. Countries such as Saudi Arabia and Pakistan have even taken part in the global
event. It is not easy to build planes that can dominate in the three different disciplines. For a plane to glide for the longest time is hard enough to do but for it plane to exhibit tricks and stunts in the air is extremely hard. The contest has judges who
measure the quality of the competition and decide on a winner. The first event took place in 2006 and the second in 2009. It is very popular and will reappear soon enough to more international acclaim.
Leave it to Red Bull to find and popularise something that has been a childhood pursuit for many years and turn it into a sport. Designing and flying paper planes will now only become more popular and more enthralling all over the world and flying paper
planes can become the newest sport to take over among the youth of the world.
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