Paper airplane soars at more than 96,000 feet

Paper-airplane-soars-at-more-than-96000-feet

A group of U.S. Air Force auxiliary volunteers in Illinois launched their 30-inch-long paper plane from more than 96,000 feet to set a world record.

The Fox Valley Composite Squadron, a West Chicago-based unit of the Illinois Wing, Civil Air Patrol, said they used a high altitude balloon to launch their paper airplane from an altitude of 96,563 feet, besting the previous 89,591-foot world record for paper airplane altitude.

The team said they launched the plane from Kankakee, Ill., and it landed 82 miles away in an area southwest of Rochester, Ind.

The team said the project was part of a Science, Technology, Engineering and Math, or STEM, project for their cadets, ages 12-18. The airplane was designed by the youths and the finished product measured 30 inches long with a 14 1/2 inch wingspan.

The paper-board plane weighed a total of about one pound before it was outfitted with a GPS device, a flight computer, temperature sensors, a barometric pressure sensor, a solar panel, batteries and an HD video camera.

The team said they are submitting their video, as well as the required paperwork, to Guinness World Records to make their accomplishment official.