BoxTemplate

Paper Helicopter Template

The paper whirlybird: a strip cut and folded into two blades and a body, held with a paper clip. Drop it from up high and it spins to the ground. A classic science lesson on air resistance, and a party game.

Paper helicopter — change shape

Size mm
Only here Your own design

Put a logo, photo or pattern straight onto the box — most free template sites give you the outline and stop there. Drag it where you want it; it is trimmed to the cut lines so nothing prints off the card, and it stays in your browser.

Advanced settingsunits, flaps, board, paper, lines
Units
Shape settings
Page

Bigger than the paper? Each piece prints whole on its own sheet. A single piece is never split: pick bigger paper or a smaller size. More about printing

Template

cutfold

Drop a picture anywhere on the drawingTap “Add a picture” below to print your own design on this box.

Print at 100% (“actual size”), never “fit to page”, or the box comes out the wrong size.

The paper helicopter template, flat and folded

Paper helicopter template — free printable dieline with cut and fold lines, any size
The printable dieline at its standard size. Type your own size above for yours.
Paper helicopter folded up from the template — the finished piece
The box it folds into.

What this template is for

The paper whirlybird: a strip cut and folded into two blades and a body, held with a paper clip. Drop it from up high and it spins to the ground. A classic science lesson on air resistance, and a party game.

Also called whirlybird · paper spinner · paper rotor · helicopter craft — all the same shape, and this is it.

How to use this template

All four downloads are the same paper helicopter at the same size — only the format changes.

PDF printing at home
Print at 100 per cent, or hand it to a print shop as "actual size, no scaling".
PNG 300 dpi Canva, Photoshop, Procreate
Upload, lock it in place and design your paper helicopter on top. Free plan and phone included. Full Canva walkthrough →
SVG Cricut, Illustrator, Inkscape, Affinity
Vector, with cuts, folds and labels on separate layers. Cricut and Silhouette walkthrough →
DXF Silhouette, laser and vinyl cutters
Two layers, CUT and FOLD — and the one free Silhouette Studio Basic will open.

Getting it printed properly →

Printing it

  1. Type your size above, then download the PDF.
  2. Print at 100% — never “fit to page”, or every measurement comes out wrong.
  3. Too big for the paper? Pick your paper size and leave Fit the pieces to the page ticked: each piece gets its own place on a sheet and the PDF comes out with every page in it, nothing cut in half and nothing to tape.

How to put it together

These pictures are the paper helicopter itself, not a generic diagram — change the measurements above and the template changes, but the three steps never do.

  1. Cut the solid lines

    Every solid line is a cut. Do the inside shapes first, while the sheet is still whole and easy to hold.

  2. Score every dashed line

    Dashed lines are folds. Score each one first — an empty ballpoint against a ruler — or the card cracks along the outside of the bend.

  3. ABclipABclipABclip

    Fold, glue and hold

    Cut out each strip, the slit down the middle of the top, and the two short cuts in from the sides. Fold blade A forwards and blade B backwards along the line under them. Fold the two sides of the body in along their lines, one over the other. Fold the foot up at the bottom and hold it with a paper clip. Drop it from as high as you safely can.

Glue: a glue stick for paper, white PVA on card — hold each seam thirty seconds, and let the box dry standing up.

Questions about the paper helicopter

Why does it spin?
Air pushes up on the two blades as it falls. They are bent opposite ways, so the push turns the helicopter, and the spin slows its fall.
How do I make it fall slower?
Make the blades longer or the strip wider. A heavier paper clip makes it fall faster and spin quicker.
How many fit on a sheet?
Three at the 50 mm wide, 170 mm long size it opens with, on A4 or US Letter. Set the number you want.

Print your own design on it

Add a logo, photo or pattern in the panel on the left and drag it onto the paper helicopter. It is trimmed to the cut outline, embedded properly in the PDF, and never leaves your computer — most free template sites hand you the outline and stop there. How printing your own design works.

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