Tortilla Airplane

The other evening, I ate dinner in a "Mexican" restaurant. Like many Americanized restaurants which serve dishes based at least partially on Mexican food, my waiter provided me with a great number of tortillas for consumption along with my meal (which, by the way was an exquisite chicken enchilada with tomatillo sauce). By the time I finished eating, I was quite full. However, this particular restaurant was relatively busy for a weekday night and also understaffed. I had quite a wait for my check, during which time I started to grow bored.

Being fidgety like most geeks (and having consumed three or four caffeinated beverages with dinner), I started playing with anything on the table. The most fun turned out to be the unused tortillas. I made a snowflake out of one (as little children do with paper in Elementary school -- fold it in half four times and cut out random segments), but then the true inspiration hit.

I made one fold down the middle and creased the tortilla. After unfolding it, I folded down one edge toward the crease and then repeated with an opposing edge. I re-folded along the original crease and then bent out the edges along two folds parallel to the first crease. Voila! My Tortilla Airplane was born!

I sent it aloft, and much like the Spruce Goose it immediately returned to the Earth, never to leave again. Sigh. I guess that's why I'm an Electrical Engineer and not a Mechanical or Aerospace one.