Red Bull Paper Wings: Sheffield student claims victory at UK's largest paper plane throwing competition

Red Bull Paper Wings saw more than 45 talented paper plane pilots try to make a plain sheet of A4 paper fly as far and as long through the air as possible at the UK National Final yesterday (Saturday, April 16).

21-year-old Sheffield Hallam student, Billy Smith, took first place in the longest flight category.

He will now go on to compete for top honours in the World Final at Hangar 7 in Salzburg, Austria, where it will be monitored by Guinness Book of World Records officials.

Billy said “I’m so happy I’ve qualified for the World Final of Red Bull Paper Wings in Austria, representing the UK in the competition. I am going to be refining my paper plane making skills and strategy ahead of the World Final.”

He claimed victory, along with Yicheng Sun, at Red Bull Paper Wings, the National Final of the UK's largest paper plane throwing competition, at Alexandra Palace.

MORE: Sheffield Parkway: Delays on major Sheffield road following three-vehicle crash

Billy came first in the airtime category, putting his amateur engineering skills to the test, and perfecting the plane’s aerodynamics to achieve the longest flight time - with a winning time of 07.74 seconds. In 2019, Australia’s Cameron Clark snatched victory with an incredible 13.33 seconds.

Meanwhile, Yicheng won in the distance competition, as he threw his plane further than anyone else, at an incredible 48.21 meters. At the last World Final, the USA’s Jake Hardy achieved a distance of 56.61m with his creation.

In the competition, paper planes could only be modified by folding - no ripping, glueing, cutting, stapling or weighting of the plane is allowed. The challenge for participants is to come up with the best aerodynamic designs and techniques, taking into consideration the angles, lift, centre and tail of the plane, and folding it as precisely as possible.

The winners of the UK event have both qualified to compete for top honours in the World Final at Hangar 7 in Salzburg, Austria, where it will be monitored by Guinness Book of World Records officials. The champions crowned in each category will also win a flight experience with the renowned Flying Bulls.