Paper airplane throwing world-record holder from Bellevue unseated in controversial flight
May 22, 2012, 11:16 AM | Updated: Oct 11, 2024, 1:38 pm
Joe Ayoob and John |
One of the men currently listed in The Guinness Book of
World Records for longest paper airplane flight didn’t
actually throw the plane, and that doesn’t sit well with
the former world-recorder holder in the category who is
from Bellevue.
“Competitive paper airplane flying had always been, in my
mind, what can one person do with one piece of paper,” 23-
year-old Stephen Kreiger of Bellevue tells
The Wall Street Journal.
Two people now share credit for the longest flight as
Guinness acknowledged both plane designer John Collins and
plane thrower, ex-Cal quarterback Joe Ayoob.
Plane designer Collins tells 97.3 KIRO FM’s Ross and Burbank Show he
didn’t even expect to be named in the record book.
“The thrower and I had talked about this, and my family
and all my friends knew that in all likelihood I was not
going to be in the Guinness Book of World Records. I just
wanted to make a plane go that far,” said Collins. “I was
really flattered when Guinness decided to include me in
the record.”
>>Listen to John Collins on The Ross and
Burbank Show
Kreiger, of Bellevue, had held the record since 2003, from
a 207 foot flight he threw when he was 15. Kreiger told
WSJ that he worked for an entire summer on his throwing
arm before his attempt.
At age 51, Collins said he faced different challenges.
“If the haters are 51-years-old, they would understand
trying to throw that plane with my shoulder.”
He sought out to find a stand-in, and after testing
multiple QBs, settled on Ayoob. The pair worked together
for 18 months to get things just right, Collins said.
“Stephen [Kreiger]’s point is that it is not in the spirit
of
traditional paper airplane competition, but I just have to
defer to Guinness on what they think is tradition, and
what they think is in the spirit of their own rules,” said
Collins. “The way I approached this thing is, world
records are there for people to innovate and get past.”
In fact, he’s not opposed to others using his design to go
after the world record themselves.
“Please fold my plane.”
Collins makes the design available at his website thepaperairplaneguy.com.
“I’m encouraging people to go there, learn how to fold my
plane and beat my record. I want to know how far my plane
goes,” said Collins.
Watch the paper airplane’s record-breaking flight:
By JAMIE GRISWOLD, MyNorthwest.com Editor
