FORT ST. JOHN, British Columbia (July 20, 2018) – A Bay-area native and well-known paper airplane designer and YouTube star, John Collins, attempted a new world record for paper aircraft distance today in Fort St. John, British Columbia. Collins watched as his throwing teammate, former D1 University of California Berkeley quarterback Joe Ayoob, tried to best the duo’s old record of 226 feet 10 inches. The event was livestreamed by WIRED, Sports Illustrated and travel site Orbitz on Facebook Live. ABC News streamed the event on their digital channel.
Collins and Ayoob first broke the world record for paper aircraft distance in 2012 with a throw of 226 feet 10 inches at the McClellan Air Force Base in North Highlands, California. At the time, the previous record was 207 feet 4 inches set by Stephen Kreiger in 2003. Today’s throw, recorded at the Pomeroy Sports Centre – an ice facility and professional sporting event center in British Columbia – did not best the record, but the duo was pleased with the effort.
“We’ve been practicing for this moment for the past six years,” said Collins. “To have the opportunity to break this record with the right conditions and space to really fly these planes the way we knew we could, it’s a huge accomplishment.”
Collins traveled to Fort St. John earlier in the week where he met his “Senior Paper Airplane Correspondent”, 6-year-old Parker Andrews. After watching several of Collins’ The Paper Airplane Guy videos on YouTube, including footage of his 2012 world record throw, Andrews recruited his father to help find a space large enough for Collins to set a new record in their hometown in northeastern British Columbia. They called Collins last month and invited him to make the attempt.
“It’s rewarding to be able to share this moment with Parker in his hometown,” said Collins. “In my line of work, I spend a great deal of time connecting with fans and followers online, but it’s events like this – where kids get to see science first-hand and experience the fun of it – that’s makes everything worthwhile.”
Orbitz sponsored the livestream video and covered all travel expenses for Collins and his team to Fort St. John. A video series documenting the trip and record-setting throw will launch this August at Orbitz.com/PaperAirplaneGuy.
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