When you have adjusted your glider to fly well, try the same arrangement of planes on a piece of reed, say eight inches in length, and bend the end over in the form of a hook. By heating the cane over a flame, you can make it turn without breaking and hold its position. Now loop a single rubber band over your thumb and forefinger, and passing the hook over the rubber, pull back exactly as you would use a sling shot. As you release the glider, pull your other hand quickly out of range. By using a heavier paper, one which will hold its shape, and turning the forward edges up slightly, the glider may be made to travel upward in a variety of graceful curves.
Paper Gliders. Antoinette Monoplane and Wright Biplane
An excellent glider with wooden planes
A covered-frame sling-shot glider
The best glider for launching on the sling-shot principle is made from planes cut from thin metal sheets. Aluminum is the best material, but a very thin wood will answer. A one-foot model glider will be found the easiest size to manage. Cut one plane eight inches in length by three in width, and the second five inches by two inches. Round off the corners on one side of each plane, leaving a straight line for the front or entering edge.
Mount the planes on a strip of reed, cane or bamboo about eighteen inches in length. In all these gliders the forward plane is made the smaller, thereby reducing the head resistance as far as possible. The metal planes should be slightly flexed by bending them to a slight concave above the horizontal and just back of the front edge. The forward end of the stick should be bent into a large hook by heating or first soaking in water. If your glider falls quickly to the ground bend the frame a trifle upward.
Since your glider is intended to travel at a comparatively high speed, the planes may be mounted much further apart than in the case of a glider launched from the hand. Try them first ten inches apart and afterwards adjust them to suit. The rubber used for launching the glider should be fairly heavy, say three strands of one-eighth inch rubber or its equivalent. The end of the hook may need adjusting so that it will escape from the rubber on being released.