Young contestants battle it out at Bitec to represent their country at the world titles in Japan
By Apinya Wipatayotin
The eagerness of young people in Thailand to make folded paper airplanes has given officials a boost as they search for two representatives to enter a world competition in Japan. The Paper Glider Arena's booth at Bitec, the exhibition centre in Bang Na, was crowded with children and teenagers testing their ability to make origami planes that can stay aloft as long as possible.
''We welcome about 800 people to test their aerodynamic skills each day,'' the secretary-general of the Paper Folding Airplane Association, Prasert Chalermkarnnon, said, adding that most of the visitors were newcomers.
Sukanya Thongkumnuan, a booth employee, said young children were very interested in the activity. The children are taught two famous paper airplane styles, Sky King and Heso-Plane.
Sky King is the most popular style, she said, because it can stay in the air longer.
The booth is part of the National Science and Technology Fair 2008, which runs until Friday.
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| Prasert Chalermkarnnon, the secretary-general of the Paper Folding Airplane Association, left, teaches young visitors how to make a paper plane in the National Science and Technology Fair 2008 at Bitec. — SOMCHAI POOMLARD |
The association was officially launched last year with assistance from the National Metal and Materials Technology Centre. With help also from Japan's Origami Airplane Association, its aim is to promote science, particularly physics and aerodynamics, to young children through the building of flying paper objects.
Mr Prasert said there was no difference in the flight principles between real planes and paper ones.
Both depend on a combination of physics and aerodynamics, he said.
With paper airplanes, if the flow of air and the object's shape are perfect, they can stay in the air far longer than usual, he said.
Mr Prasert cited Takuo Toda, the inventor of the origami plane who made it popular worldwide. Mr Toda could make an origami airplane stay in the air for 22.48 seconds, which is still the record.
''I think Thai children have improved their skills. In the last two years, our children have won third prize at the competition in Japan. So we have confidence that with more practice, Thai competitors might be able to win the global competition in 2010,'' he said.
The final round of the competition in Thailand will be held on Friday. The top two performers will go to Japan for the global competition held every two years. Mr Toda will also witness the final round in Bangkok.
Each candidate is given 10 minutes to fold and launch the plane twice into the air. The best air time is counted.
Ponlakit Peeyarattanawong, a Bangkok University student who was last year's champion with a flight of 16.49 seconds, was optimistic about his chances of representing Thailand in Japan. ''I have to practise more as most of my competitors are old faces. We know each other's ability. My best score is 17 seconds. I am confident I can defend my position, but it depends on opportunities,'' he said.
A key to his success, he said, was reading books and researching on the internet.
A 10-year-old primary school student from Chaleesamutra School who made the semi-final smiled when he heard the result. ''I got 6.72 seconds. But it is not a good score,'' the boy said, and admitted he had to try harder.
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