There seems to be some kind of renaissance in paper plane folding in the States at the time of writing this (Feb 2005), and long may it continue. Barely three months after Michael Weinstein’s excellent Stationary Flight (see also BOS Magazine 230) two books by Mr Collins arrive on these shores.

The first book, The Gliding Flight, is a welcome reprint of the 1989 original. This is a sound introduction to paper aeroplanes and, thankfully, the author is aware of and uses the Randlett/Yoshizawa symbols. The diagrams are clear and easy to follow. The book also possesses flick through animations on the page edges to demonstrate how to; Reverse fold, Sink fold, Squash fold, Petal fold and Waterbomb Base (I think this is the first use of “waterbomb base” as a verb).

There are twenty different aeroplanes of varying degrees of difficulty. They will all produce a good flight and should encourage experimentation in origami aerodynamics.

The second volume, Fantastic Flight, is proof positive that Mr Collins has not been wasting his life in the intervening twenty four years. He has produced twenty four new planes at an average rate of one a year, faster than Boeing or Airbus. He is still using standard notation and the diagrams are clearer and better than in The Gliding Flight.

The planes all fly well and some are exceptionally good. He also goes into very slow flight, walking pace or slower, which is an interesting area with great potential, I have used up quite a lot of 15gsm paper slowly walking behind planes in my living room! The only minor quibble I have is he recommends using American phone book pages and does not give an example of what that means in terms of gsm.

Overall these two books are a welcome addition to any origamic aeronaut’s library and are simple enough for folders from about 8 years and upwards.