How do you play Paper Plane Flight?
A paper plane sits at the classroom window. Press near it, drag downwards with a finger or the mouse and let go: it flies off in the opposite direction. The pull angle becomes the throw angle, the pull length becomes the throw power, and the distance to the spot where the plane touches the ground is your score.
You keep steering while it flies. Hold the screen and the nose rises; release and it drops again. Raising the nose trades speed for height, lowering it trades height for speed. Alternating the two to ride thermals and dodge birds and branches is the whole art of the flight.
What is the wrist snap bonus?
A needle circles the plane while you aim. Release while it passes through the yellow zone at the top and the throw speed rises by up to 16%. The closer the needle is to the middle of the zone, the bigger the bonus, and the words Wrist snap pop up on a good one.
Two throws with the same angle and power can land far apart because of this timing, so if you are chasing a record it pays to learn the rhythm of the needle. The same bonus applies to keyboard throws.
How do the three planes differ?
On the title screen you pick Classic, Dart or Glider, and they differ in speed, lift and how fast the nose responds.
| Plane | Character | Best for |
|---|---|---|
| Classic | Fastest nose response, so it climbs and dives between rings and can even loop. Middle of the road for speed and float. | Ring Course |
| Dart | Low drag and a 28% faster throw. Goes far, but with little lift it stalls quickly once it slows down. | Distance |
| Glider | Wide wings keep it floating at low speed. Rides thermals best, but throws 10% slower. | Two Players, thermal heavy courses |
Why does the plane stall, and how do I avoid it?
Hold the nose up too long and the plane slows until the wings lose lift and the nose drops on its own: a stall. Stall flashes in red and the controls stop responding for a moment.
- Watch the speed readout. Below about 20 km/h you are in danger. Let go, lower the nose and get the speed back.
- Tap instead of holding. Short presses gain height a little at a time without bleeding as much speed.
- Dive only as a last resort. The ▼ button or ↓ key pushes the nose down hard: speed comes back fast, but you lose a lot of height and a hard hit on the ground ends the flight right there.
What is in the scenery and what gets in the way?
In Distance mode the scenery runs playground (0 to 120 m), park (120 to 380 m), river (380 to 620 m) and city (620 m on), endlessly. Signs on the ground mark every 50 m and a red flag stands at your best distance.
| Thing | What it does |
|---|---|
| Thermal | A shimmering column rising from the ground. Inside it the plane is pushed upwards and sparkles fly. The centre of the column pushes hardest. |
| Wind flag | A flag every 60 m waves in the wind direction. Waving right means a tailwind that helps, left means a headwind. A red flag means strong wind. |
| Bird | Hit a bird and you lose speed and stall for a moment. It does not end the flight. |
| Branch or antenna | Catch the tip of a tall park tree or a rooftop antenna in the city and the plane lands on the spot. |
How do the three modes differ?
Distance is one throw as far as you can. Ring Course is 30 rings hanging in the air to pass in order. Two Players is two people taking turns, three throws each, longest flight wins.
In Ring Course the rings sit 11 m apart at changing heights, with a strong thermal between rings so a good pilot can reach the end. The next ring carries its number and turns green when you pass through it. In Two Players both pilots get the same wind and the same thermals, so it comes down to skill rather than luck.
Tips for flying farther
- Throw between 25 and 35 degrees. Too high and the plane stalls at the top, too low and it meets the ground early.
- Hands off right after the throw. Raising the nose while still climbing only wastes speed. Start steering once the plane tips over the top.
- Raise the nose above a thermal. Spend a little speed to gain height inside the column, then turn that height back into speed on the way out, hopping from thermal to thermal.
- Fly high in tailwind, low and fast in headwind. Read the flags ahead and set your height early.
- Land shallow. Speed left at touchdown turns into a slide of a few extra metres. A nose dive stops where it hits.
Controls
- Phone and mouse: press anywhere near the plane at the window, drag downwards and release to throw. In flight, hold the screen for nose up and release for nose down. The ▼ button at the bottom right dives.
- Keyboard: 1, 2 or 3 picks a mode on the title screen. ← → set the angle, hold Space to charge power and release to throw. In flight Space or ↑ raises the nose, ↓ dives and Esc returns to the menu.
Best records and your plane choice are stored only in this browser and never sent to a server. Share result turns your record into a picture card.