This node describes how to construct a General Dynamics
F-16 fighter jet
from a cereal box, some scotch tape, and a penny.
(Eat your heart out, MacGuyver!)
I invented this back in the '80s one day when I got
bored. (Now I'm so bored I'm writing about it.)
You will need the following materials and tools:
If you don't have a PostScript capable printer, you
can substitute graph paper, a pencil, and brain power
to become a human PostScript interpreter and manually
print the instructions. But you'd have to be pretty
hardcore into it.
Or you can use something like GhostScript.
The first thing to do is cause a suitable PostScript
interpreter to execute the PostScript program shown below.
To do this, cut and paste this text info
a file called "f16.ps" for example, then print the file.
NOTE: Be careful to make sure that the "%!PS-Adobe" starts on the
very first character of the file. When I cut and pasted this from Everything I got an extra space in front of
each line. Make sure there is no extra space at the front
of the first line. (On other lines it's ok.)
It will print out some patterns. Cut out the patterns.
Here is the PostScript program:
%!PS-Adobe 1.0
/L {lineto} def /RL {rlineto} def
/M {moveto} def /RM {rmoveto} def
/SG {stroke grestore} def
/NP {newpath} def /CP {closepath} def
/GS {gsave} def /SC {scale} def
/SLW {0.2 setlinewidth} def /SP {showpage} def
/hj { 0 140 RL -30 0 RL 0 -13 RL 15 -4 RL
0 -15 RL -35 0 RL 0 -18 RL 35 -15 RL CP } def
/tail { -30 0 RL 0 90 RL 15 0 RL 15 -40 RL 45 -40 RL
0 -35 RL -45 25 RL -40 0 RL 0 90 RL 10 0 RL } def
/hf { 0 90 RL -15 0 RL 5 -90 RL CP } def
/hn { 0 50 RL -15 -48 RL CP } def
SLW
NP 306 72 M GS 5 5 SC hj SG
NP 306 72 M GS -5 5 SC hj SG
NP 126 201.6 M GS 3 3 SC tail SG
NP 486 324 M GS 5 -5 SC hn SG
NP 486 324 M GS -5 -5 SC hn SG
SP SLW
NP 126 770.4 M GS 5 -5 SC hf SG
NP 126 770.4 M GS -5 -5 SC hf SG
NP 486 770.4 M GS 5 -5 SC hf SG
NP 486 770.4 M GS -5 -5 SC hf SG
SP
Then, cut open the cereal box, and trace the patterns onto
the cardboard. (Cereal box cardboard is just the right stiffness
for making good airplanes). Cut out the patterns from
the cereal box.
There are five pieces. The largest is quite obviously F-16
shaped, and one is quite obviously the tail. The triangular
shaped one is the nose. The two (more or less) rectangular
pieces are the top and bottom of the fuselage.
Fold the two fuselage pieces down the centerline so that
the fold makes about a 90 degree angle. Choose one to be
top and one to be the bottom.
Each piece of the fuselage has a narrow end and a thick
end. The narrow end is the rear, the thick end is the front.
For the top fuselage piece, make a slit down the center line
about half the length, starting from the rear, the narrow end.
The tail fits in this slit. (The slit should be just long
enough for the tail to fit through nicely.)
The tail has a tab along the bottom. Fold this tab at a
90 degree angle. (You may want to make a cut in the tab, to
make two tabs, folding one tab 90 degrees to the left, and the
other 90 degrees to the right. These tabs are what holds the
tail to the largest piece. Tape (or glue) the tail onto the
largest piece. (It's pretty obvious where it must go, I think.)
Now take the top half of the fuselage, fit the slit around
the tail, and tape it in place.
Now fold the nose piece down the centerline. to make a 90
degree angle or so. Tape this onto the nose piece. (You may
have to use a lot of tape. You may wish to modify the shape
of the nose piece to include more cardboard tabs to help in
attaching it.
Tape the bottom part of the fuselage onto the bottom of the
plane, symmetric with the top half. Since there's no nose piece
on the bottom, it leaves a gaping jet engine intake.
Finally, tape a penny onto the bottom of the nose. The F-16
is now ready to fly.
Launch the F-16 by hand. If done correctly it should fly
quite a lot better than your average paper airplane, about
as well as those balsa wood gliders you used to get
when you were a kid.
Now go outside and play.