Chinese Teenagers Shatter 15-Year-Old World Record for Longest Paper Airplane Flight Time

Kunshan, Jiangsu. A group of Chinese teenagers has demonstrated astonishing skill in building and flying paper airplanes, breaking a world record that had stood unbroken for 15 years. These young individuals surpassed the record of 'longest time aloft' of 29.2 seconds, set by Japanese citizen Takuo Toda in 2010, multiple times in a single day.

During a test held at the Kunshan Sports Center in Jiangsu Province, 16-year-old Rao Chongyi achieved 31.15 seconds and Liu Liwen achieved 31.25 seconds, setting a new history for keeping the aircraft airborne.

What makes this achievement even more special is that this same group had just broken another world record for the farthest flight of a paper airplane on December 28 last year. These teenagers, with an average age of just over 17 and a half years, flew the plane 98.43 meters in December, surpassing the 2022 record by 10 meters. Thus, they succeeded in logging two major world records within 60 days.

Strict rules were followed for the world record to be recognized. These included provisions that the flight must be indoors, only A4 size paper could be used, and the amount of tape used for adhesion had to be within a specified limit.

According to Liu Liwen, they narrowly missed breaking the record by only 0.2 seconds last August, which motivated them to work harder. Once Guinness World Records formally certifies this attempt, the capability of these Chinese youths will gain global recognition.