Paper airplanes competition comes to universities in Jamaica

Saturday, February 04, 2012

The goal is to fly, not land. Thousands of pilots in dozen of qualifiers all over the planet will fly paper airplanes in an attempt to get their wings for the world finals of the Red Bull Paper Wings 2012 World Championship next May.

There are three categories that could fly the national winners off to Salzburg, Austria — the longest airtime, longest distance and aerobatics. But a word of warning: The goal is to fly, not to land.

The world champion will be determined for the third time at a location where lovingly restored aviation rarities are usually on display. A selection of students, whose university ID serves as a licence to fly, will have the chance for an unforgettable adventure in aviation.

All it takes is a piece of paper and the will to fly. It's of secondary importance what form the ordinary piece of paper A4(80g/m2) takes when it takes off from the hand. All forms of assistance or supplementary devices are forbidden in the "longest distance" and "longest airtime" categories. Solely with the "acrobatics" are the hobby engineers allowed to use scissors, glues and other materials.

The national winners will receive a direct pass to the regional competition where the Latin America and Caribbean representatives will be chosen to fly off to Austria to compete against the best paper plane amateur engineers of the planet.

Do you want to take off too? Do you think you've known the best way to fold a paper airplane? Or do you have the right arm strength for the long distance or longest airtime flights? Or do you have an excessive amount of creativity that you want to pour into acrobatics? If you do, then sign up for the qualifier in your university by visiting www.redbullcaribbean.com.

The National Qualifiers are slated for the Mico University College from 2:00 - 4:00 pm on February 9, at the gymnasium; University of the West Indies (UWI) between 4:00 and 6:00 pm on February 28 at the gymnasium by the bowl; and University of Technology (UTech) between 3:00 and 5:00 pm at the auditorium on March 1.