Micro Canard Glider Made of Card Stock

I've designed a few canard gliders before, and I've designed a few tiny gliders, so...

If you want to make your own micro canard glider, you'll need access to a printer or photocopier that can handle card stock. To start, download the PDF file of the plans.

-manila file folder, cut to a standard size (8.5" x 11" / A4)

or sheet of card stock (80 lb. / 215 gsm)

or sheet of printer paper and sheet of light card stock (65 lb. / 175 gsm) that you glue together

-scrap piece of white paper

-liquid white glue and glue stick

-ruler

-scissors and hobby knife

Cut the pieces out. Go slowly. Scissors will suffice, but a hobby knife and metal ruler are good for long straight lines, as well as tight corners. However, hobby knives can cut you. If you're a kid, get an adult to help you and/or teach you how to safely use one.

The fuselage, canard wing, and the main wing constitute a single piece (A). It gets reinforced with a single long strip (B). Use the glue stick to apply a thin, consistent layer of glue to the strip, and attach it. Use the reference lines. Press the pieces together firmly, making sure they don't slide out of position. Place under a book for several minutes.

Dotted lines need creases. Use a ruler to help make the creases straight and crisp.

The elevators, located on the canard, must be bent down (i.e. have a deflection of) about 5 degrees. The same should be done to the leading edges of the main wing.

The trailing edges of the main wing should be about flat at the wing tips, but begin to angle upward as you move to the center line. Here, they should be raised by about 7 degrees. The end of the fuselage should also be curved up.

Once you've used a ruler to start the creases on the wings, pinch along the leading and trailing edges repeatedly to get a softer contour.

Raise the fins to an angle of about 85 degrees.

To make the canopy a different color than the rest of the glider, trace the canopy shape (C) onto a piece of card stock or heavy paper.

Cut out the canopy and make creases on the dotted lines. Form the canopy such that the sides are almost vertical. Add two dots of glue at the little relief cuts, and push the front section (triangular) back so it overlaps the rear section a little. The canopy should be more or less flat on the bottom. Pinch the sides to lock the angle.

Use a glue stick to attach the narrow strip (D) across the top of the canard, flush with creases of the elevators. Cut off the overhanging material once the glue has dried a little.

The pair of large polygon pieces (E) will form a T-shaped beam that will be attached to bottom of the main piece (A). Crease the dotted lines and form 90-degree angles. On one of the pieces, apply a thin layer of liquid glue over the larger of the two panels. Unite the two pieces by pressing the matched panels together. Allow to dry for several minutes.

Use liquid glue to attach the finished piece to the fuselage. The front of it should terminate 1 cm back from the tip of the glider's nose.

Test the canopy to see how it rests on top of the fuselage. You may need to trim material on the sides to get it to rest flat. Using liquid glue, attach the canopy to the main piece.

Check the glider from front, back, top, and bottom. Look for warps, twists, and other issues. With gentle working and reworking, the card stock will retain a new position or shape. It is important that the glider have bilateral symmetry, so try to get the right and left sides of the canard and wings to match each other.

Did I mention that micro gliders are great for indoor flight? A breeze to you is a gale to them! If possible, test the glider indoors. If outdoors, wait for calm conditions.

When trimming (i.e., adjusting elevators, fins, and wings), make only tiny adjustments between flights. Throw the glider as consistently and gently, and on a level trajectory. If it tends to dive, deflect the elevators down by a couple of degrees and/or raise the trailing edges of the main wing near the center line. If the glider tends to nose up, make the opposite adjustments.

To correct a drift to the left or right, try deflection of one of the elevators first. If, for instance, the glider drifts slightly left, increase deflection of the left elevator to provide more lift and help roll the glider right. Beyond that, you can use a bit of a rudder on either of the fins. Deflecting a rudder to the left will cause the glider to go left, and deflecting it to the right will make it go right. As usual, make small adjustments.

Good luck!

See some flights and additional details in the building process.