Evolution of the paper plane flight and how far it's actually possible to throw one

Folding and throwing paper planes is a very precise art, and the distance the aircraft will travel depends heavily on the precision with which it was created.

So exactly how far can one be thrown? And how quickly have humans managed to turn a single sheet of A4 paper into a piece of record-breaking history?

Since today (26 May) is Paper Airplane Day, let’s take a look at how far these records have evolved over the years. You might be surprised.

Let’s start with the record for fastest time to fold and throw a paper aircraft.

The rules state that the participant must start with an unfolded commercially available standard piece of A4 paper, and they must not be touching it before the time starts.

The paper has to be folded according to a diagram provided to the record hopeful and it has to fly at least 2 metres (6 ft 6.7 in) for it to count.

This record was first broken in May 2017 by Lu Yu (China), who did it in 35.435 seconds.

Lu Yu in action

In February 2019, Charles Haynsworth IV (USA) broke it with a time of 22.347 sec.

Charles attempting the record

Then amazingly, three different people attempted it on the same day in August 2019.

Donato De leso (Italy) did it in 11.49 sec, Kazuma Mori (Japan) managed 10.49 sec, and Akimichi Hattori (Japan) completed the challenge in 7.03 sec.

Then, in November 2023, serial record breaker David Rush (USA) gave it a go for the first time, claiming the record in 6.15 sec.

Rush broke his own record in June 2024 with a time of 5.12 sec, and he kept it until January 2025 when Trigg Kesterson (USA) did it in 4.94 sec.

Rush took it back this January with a time of 4.82 sec, but even that has since been outdone.

In April, Ikai Tomoki (Japan) completed the challenge in just 4.54 sec and is the current record holder at the time of writing, but it’s likely someone out there is folding and throwing paper planes to try and break the record right now.

How quickly can you do it?

Read about more impressive feats like this in our Hobbies and Skills section.

Now, let’s look at the farthest flight by a paper aircraft.

For this record, the plane must be flown indoors in a closed-air environment and the plane must be constructed from only one sheet of A4 that has to weigh less than 100 gsm.

The thrower is permitted a walk or run-up of up to 10 ft (3.04 m) but the plane must be launched from a static position and from behind a designated throwing line.

A man named Tony Felch was first to break the record, all the way back in May 1985 when his plane flew 58.82 m (193 ft).

It stood for almost two decades until Stephen Krieger (USA) came along. He managed a distance of 63.19 m (207 ft 4 in).

That one again stood for a long time, finally being broken in February 2012 by Joe Ayoob and aircraft designer John M. Collins (both USA), who flew their plane 69.14 m (226 ft 10 in).

Joe throwing his plane

Another decade went by before Kim Kyu Tae (South Korea) managed a distance of 77.134 m (252 ft 7 in) in April 2022.

Later that year, in December, Dillon Ruble (USA), with the support of Nathaniel Erickson and Garrett Jensen (both USA) came along to claim the record with 88.31 m (289 ft 9 in).

Dillon in action

At the time of writing, the record was last claimed and is still currently held by Liu Liwen (China), with the support of Tang Shuai, Yang Shian, Huang Yizhou, Qiao Yuchen and Wang Chenghao (all China).

That plane flew 98.43 m (322 ft 11 in) in December 2025.

Liu’s plane taking flight

Can anyone fly one further?

Generally speaking, the people who attempt these records are pretty secretive about their folding techniques, so you’ll have to figure out your own if you’re going to throw your hat in the ring.

Good luck!

Header image: David Rush with GWR Adjudicator Will Sinden