Video by Science Friday

Using a pot, a speaker, and a bunch of straws, Leif Ristroph and colleagues at NYU are pushing the envelope of paper aircraft design. Their paper creations -- with shapes ranging from umbrellas to pyramids -- are pushed aloft by pulses of air created by a low-frequency tone from a subwoofer. Interestingly, the pulses of air give the aircrafts, which are not shaped at all like birds or insects, the appearance of flapping flight.

Want to explore airplane aerodynamics on your own? Check out this activity from Science Dad:
The Great Paper Airplane Experiment