How to Make the Needle Dart, a Fast Paper Airplane
The needle dart is a classic dart with one extra narrowing fold, so the nose becomes a long, thin point packed with layers of paper and the wings are small. With so little wing for its weight it has to fly fast, which makes it the quickest plane on this site and a good one for straight, hard throws. It is an easy fold that takes about four minutes with one sheet of printer paper.
At a glance
- Difficulty
- Easy
- Time
- About 4 min
- Steps
- 7 (6 folds)
- Paper
- A4 or US Letter
- Best for
- Speed and straight, hard throws
Printable Needle Dart instructions (PDF)
Page 1 is a fold-line template: print it, then fold along the numbered lines. Page 2 has every step with pictures plus throwing tips.
How to fold the Needle dart
A dart narrowed three times into a slim, needle-pointed body with small wings. The fastest plane here; it needs a hard throw.
Difficulty: Easy · Best for: Distance · 7 steps
Printable fold-line template
Page 1 is the A4 sheet with every fold line printed in place and numbered; page 2 has the steps. Print at 100% (Actual size) on ordinary 80 g/m² (20 lb) copy paper.
Test flight: Needle dart
Toy model — not a predictionA simplified 2D flight model driven by the folded shape: its wing area, weight and balance point. Drag from the hand in the direction of the throw — a longer drag throws harder — or use the sliders.
Drag on the picture or press Throw.
- Weight:
- 5.0 g
- Wing area:
- 93 cm²
- Wingspan:
- 8.8 cm
- Balance point:
- 163 mm behind the nose
- Balance on the wing:
- 9% of average chord
- Steady glide:
- 11.3 m/s, 0.8 : 1
Weight assumes 80 g/m² paper. The model treats the plane as one flat, rigid wing: lift and drag of a thin plate, a centre of pressure that moves back as the nose rises, and bent-up elevators that add a nose-up moment. Real flights also depend on crease quality, wing symmetry, twist and air currents.
Step-by-step instructions
The same 7 steps as the animation above, written out so you can fold away from the screen. Measurements are for an A4 sheet; switch the tool above to US Letter for Letter-size measurements and template.
Step 1
Lay the sheet portrait, printed side up. Fold it in half lengthwise, crease firmly and unfold again. The centre crease is your guide for every fold that follows.
Step 2
Fold both top corners in so their top edges lie along the centre crease.
Step 3
Fold the new slanted edges in to the centre crease, as for a classic dart.
Step 4
Fold the slanted edges in to the centre crease one more time. The nose is now a long, thin needle point and the folded layers make it heavy at the front. The bottom ends of the flaps reach a little past the bottom edge; that is normal.
Step 5
Turn the plane over and fold it in half along the centre crease, so the folded flaps end up on the outside. Turn it so the nose points left.
Step 6
Fold the top wing down along a line parallel to the bottom edge (the keel), about 1.6 cm (5/8 in) above it. Turn over and fold the other wing to match.
Step 7
Open the wings so they are flat and level, with a slight upward V seen from the front. Pinch the thick body together just behind the nose.
How to throw the needle dart
- Hold the body just behind the thick nose layers and throw hard, straight ahead and a few degrees upward.
- It has very little wing for its weight, so it only flies well fast: a gentle throw makes it drop.
Throw it like a dart, hard and straight with a quick snap of the wrist, aiming just above level. It covers ground quickly but does not float: as soon as it slows down it comes down. Outdoors it cuts through a light breeze better than wide gliders, but keep it away from people's faces, because the point is sharp and fast.
Trimming and troubleshooting
Trimming means small bends to the back edges of the wings (the elevators) and the wing angle. Change one thing at a time and test-throw after each change.
- If it dives, bend the last few millimetres of both wing trailing edges up very slightly; small wings react strongly.
- If it pitches up and stalls, flatten those bends again.
- If it corkscrews, the two wings are not equal: refold them so their edges sit exactly on the keel.
- It dives straight into the ground
- Bend the last few millimetres of both wing trailing edges up very slightly. Small wings react strongly, so change a little at a time.
- It spirals or corkscrews
- The wings are unequal. Refold them so both fold lines are the same distance from the keel, and check that the body is not twisted.
- The body springs open
- The nose is many layers thick. Crease every fold hard, and pinch the body closed just behind the nose or hold it with a small piece of tape.
About the needle dart
The needle dart takes the familiar dart one step further. After the corners and the slanted edges have been folded in to the centre once, the new edges are folded in a second time. Each narrowing fold halves the angle of the nose and stacks more paper at the front, so the finished plane has a long, needle-like point, a heavy nose and a slim body.
That shape trades lift for speed. The wings are much smaller than those of the classic dart, so the plane needs a fast throw to stay up, but it also has less drag and holds a straight line well. The step where the flaps reach slightly past the bottom edge is expected: the extra paper simply becomes part of the tail.
If you want distance more than raw speed, compare it with the long-distance dart, which keeps bigger wings and gets its nose weight from a folded band instead. For floating flights, try the classic glider or the Nakamura lock.
Needle Dart paper airplane: questions
What is the fastest paper airplane to fold?+
Narrow darts with heavy noses are the fastest, because they have little wing area and little drag. The needle dart on this page is the fastest of our designs; the classic dart and bulldog dart are close behind and a little more forgiving.
Is the needle dart good for distance?+
It flies far when thrown hard, but it does not glide for long once it slows down. For the longest distance from an ordinary throw, the long-distance dart usually does better.
Why are the wings so small?+
The extra narrowing fold tucks more of the sheet into the nose. That makes the plane heavy at the front and leaves less paper for the wings, which is exactly what makes it fast.
Is the needle dart safe to throw indoors?+
Throw it only in a clear space and never toward people or pets: it is fast and the point is sharp. Folding the very tip of the nose back by a few millimetres makes it blunter and safer.
Is there a printable template?+
Yes. The PDF button at the top of the page downloads a free US Letter or A4 template with every fold line printed and numbered, plus a page of step pictures.
Fold another paper airplane
Classic Dart
The sharp-nosed plane most people learn first. Fast, straight and happiest with a hard throw.
Long-Distance Dart
A dart that starts with a folded band across the top, giving it a heavy nose. It holds its speed and glides further than the plain dart.
Arrow with Fins
A slim dart with upturned wing tips. The fins act like the feathers of an arrow and keep it flying straight.