How Engineering Students in Pisa Built the World’s Largest Paper Airplane
SMRTR summary
A student steps onto a platform, gives a massive paper airplane a push, and watches it glide nearly 60 meters across a Bologna exhibition hall. That single launch shattered a Guinness World Record.
Engineering students from the University of Pisa built ICARUS, a paper airplane spanning just over 20 meters from wingtip to wingtip, roughly the length of two city buses. Fifteen students built it entirely by hand, using layered paper in a honeycomb structure for strength without bulk.
The previous record, held since 2013 by a German university team, stood at 18.21 meters with a flight distance of 18 meters. ICARUS flew more than triple that distance.
Humidity was a surprisingly tricky enemy. Paper expands and warps in moist conditions, threatening the glued joints and carefully shaped wings. The team ran computer airflow simulations and built smaller prototypes before committing to the full-scale build.
ICARUS was officially certified at the We Make Future event at BolognaFiere, with a Guinness judge present to verify every dimension.
SMRTR provides this summary for quick context. The original article belongs to TechEBlog.
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