Artist's Commentary

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A life-size Paper-Mache Airplane! John realizes a life-long dream!

I liked to fold paper airplanes as a kid. I tried out so many different designs... simple and complex, learning what would fly, or more often, what didn't.

One time I decided to take a design I knew would fly well, and fold it out of a very large piece of thick brown paper... paper bag-paper, about 6 feet long. It took a lot more effort to fold, but in the the end it looked like it would work. To my disappointment, it made a nose dive every time. One time when I threw it against the wind however it held a sustained flight and landed flat. The real problem was the wings become flimsier the larger you make the plane.... and of course the obvious difference in weight. There's something about the size of a regular piece of office paper that makes the perfect paper airplane.

I have wondered if anyone out there has been successful in folding a life-sized paper airplane that can sustain a long flight. It's part of the inspiration for this story. Perhaps if someone made it out of a sheet of larger, denser material, but still folded it the same. It's all about keeping the plane light, but the wings rigid. So far, every example of a true folded paper airplane I've found, seems to end the same way... it makes an immediate nose dive.

Here's the closest example I've found that set the Guinness World Record: LARGEST PAPER AIRPLANE

You can't blame people for trying though! Every year Red Bull sponsor's it's famous "Flugtag" event. People from around the world bring their own home-made aircraft to the event and attempt to sustain flight off a short run way with a shorter drop to the lake below.

Here's a link to highlights from the event - Flugtag Highlights - Vienna 2008

Watching it reminds me of the old black and white footage we've all seen of the hilarious attempts at "flying machines" that inventors tried before the Wright Brother's took flight. Back then it seemed anything was possible, in designs that were more imagination than science.

With this comic story, I propose the possibility that if thousands of sheets of newsprint were cut into strips, pasted together like paper mache, to be overlapping and strong... and allowed to dry as one large reinforced sheet, then a working paper airplane could be folded that is light enough and strong enough to retain it's shape.

... or we can just forget about the science behind it all, and just enjoy this story. John is a brilliant inventor after all... clearly he's thought of everything. ;)

So there we are, 3 pages of this story to get it started. While you're here, If you'd like a full story-per-page comic, then check out the episodes from the last few weeks, "April Fool's Day" and "MUGBOT"

I hope you like this on-going story!... Passing a link on to your friends is always appreciated! Look for new "Newt and John" comics every MONDAY! Take a moment to subscribe to this website's RSS FEED for instant notification when each comic is online!.. or Follow me on TWITTER!

If you've just discovered this comic, take some time to enjoy all the episodes in the ARCHIVE. Come back each MONDAY to see what else can happen, when Two Roommates take on the Universe!

All the best,

Mike Hogue - May 3rd / 2010