Hundreds of Flinders University students turned their hands to a modern variant of the ages-old art of origami last week at a Red Bull Paper Wings qualifier at the University’s Bedford Park campus.

With a chance to win a trip to Austria on offer for those who could make a paper plane fly furthest enough, hang in the air longest, or perform the most dramatic aerobatics, the event saw a wide range of approaches taken in a an effort to make the best plane possible.

Facilitated by Red Bull ‘ground crew’ and ‘wings’ attendants at the University’s Sport Centre, students folded, calibrated and checked the aerodynamics of their craft before letting fly – sometimes to hilarious, if somewhat disappointing, effect.

Flinders student Peter Hughes said the competition had been a great opportunity for him to dust off some skills which had been much under-used since childhood.

“I don’t think I’m going to win anything, but it was so much fun to make a paper plane again, and it was also just a really great way to break up the day at uni,” said Mr Hughes.

“I’d love to win that trip to Austria, but either way I thought it was a brilliant competition, and I’ll definitely be practising my technique for next year.”

If you’d like to see a video of the event, click here.