This Adobe Acrobat pdf document describesthe Paperang, a high performance, easy tomake, precision-engineered paper airplanesystem. The Paperang itself was invented in1977. Since then, it has been the subject of abook and much media attention, the story ofwhich is described in the next chapter, APaperang History. I believe that paper airplane design andflight forms a unique part of the world ofaviation. It’s the cheapest way to make anaircraft, it’s probably the most commonform of aviation, there are probably moremanufacturers of paper airplanes than anyother type, it involves the least danger… thelist of superlatives go on. The essence ofpaper aviation is that anyone can be in-volved, the airplane can be built quickly, thematerials are always to hand, and the resultsgive much enjoyment at little risk. What’s interesting is that paper airplanes flyin the same air as the most sophisticated jetaircraft, and obey the same laws of aerody-namics. A well designed and made paper airplane will fly better than one that hasbeen poorly designed. My contribution is the realisation that foldedpaper is best thought of as a flexible mem-brane. Designs which take this property intoaccount, with shapes like hang gliders, havedistinct advantages over traditional paper‘darts’. The innovative breakthrough wasthe discovery of how a strong, near-perfecthang glider shape, complete with airfoilsection, swept back wings, and controlledwashout, can be produced from a singlepiece of paper. The design features of thePaperang are discussed in the chapter, TheBest Paper Airplane System in the World.