Science A Bunch Of US High-Schoolers Broke The Paper Airplane World Record

A ‘science’ project for high school kids normally involves making a poster of the periodic table, or perhaps torching things with a small gas burner if your science teacher is a bit Walter White. If you’re also a cadet with the Civil Aviation Patrol, on the other hand, you can make a computer-controlled, record-breaking paper airplane.


To achieve the record-breaking height (96,563 feet), the students attached their one-pound plane to a helium weather balloon, then launched it upwards.

Eventually, the balloon burst, the on-board computer (yes, this paper aeroplane had a computer) severed the tether, and the plane glided 81.9 miles before landing. [ Fox Valley Composite Squadron ]

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