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VIDEO: A kid’s paper plane competition goes the distance in Langley City

First, they learned how to make them, then they competed to see who could fly the longest distance

For a moment, it looked like Jonathan Glover’s paper airplane would make a premature landing, dropping almost instantly after he sent it flying.

Then, it found an updraft and soared, landing well away from the 12-year-old Walnut Grove resident.

“That was pretty far,” Glover remarked, as Nehal Saleh from the Explore Science Club (ESC) paced off the distance with a tape measure and announced it was the longest flight yet.

But then, another 12-year-old, Martin Zou from Coquitlam, stepped up to the line in Langley City’s Buckley Park and let fly with his paper plane, which stayed airborne longer, landing several metres beyond Glover’s mark.

A gracious Glover, who told Zou he hadn’t been expecting to win, was happy with his second place finish and his prize, an airplane model kit.

Zou, who said it was his first-ever paper plane contest, was delighted with the outcome and his prize, a slightly more elaborate model kit.

Martin Zou, 12, from Coquitlam had the farthest-flying entry at the second Explore Science Club paper airplane contest on Saturday, July 9, at Buckley Park in Langley City. 42 kids took part. (Dan Ferguson/Langley Advance Times)
Martin Zou, 12, from Coquitlam had the farthest-flying entry at the second Explore Science Club paper airplane contest on Saturday, July 9, at Buckley Park in Langley City. 42 kids took part. (Dan Ferguson/Langley Advance Times)

Forty-two kids took part in the Saturday, July 9 event, the second paper airplane competition to be organized by ESC.

Saleh called it “a fun way to engage with science”

“Some of the students attended a workshop and we learned about the science of flight and what the forces of flight are,” Saleh told the Langley Advance Times, “and learned how to build airplanes that fly, and how to move them in ways that allow them to fly.”

Saleh thinks there will likely be a third paper airplane contest next year.

Established in 2018, the Langley City-based ESC offers nature-inspired science enrichment programs, Spring/Summer Break Care, and events for children aged three to 12.

More information can be obtained by visiting www.explorescienceclub.com. or by emailing learn@explorescienceclub.com.

More photos from the day can be viewed online at the Langley Advance Times Facebook page.

READ ALSO: Bird count aimed at getting Langley kids to participate

READ ALSO: Counting birds from bubbles; how Langley volunteers managed the annual event


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Dan Ferguson

About the Author: Dan Ferguson

Best recognized for my resemblance to St. Nick, I’m the guy you’ll often see out at community events and happenings around town.
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