GoPro camera captures thrilling flight of the world's biggest paper airplane as the massive craft soars above an Arizona desert
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The stunning view from the world's largest paper airplane as it soars above an Arizona desert has been captured in a new ad for GoPro cameras.
The plane, called the Arturo Desert Eagle, measures a massive 45 feet long and 26 feet wide with a 24 foot wingspan, and has been known to reach speeds of up to 98 miles per hour.
The plane is based on the original Arturo Desert Eagle design developed in 2012 by the Pima Air & Space Museum in Tucson.
A paper plane crew member fixes a camera to the body to capture the craft's flight
Before launch, the plane must be taken thousands of feet into the sky via helicopter
The helicopter prepares to release the 45 feet long plane to the winds
THE DESERT EAGLE
The Arturo Desert Eagle was designed by a 12 year old, Arturo Valdenegro.
45 feet long
26 feet wide with a 24 foot wingspan
Can reach speeds of 98 miles per hour.
Weighs 800-pounds
Towed approximately 4,000 feet into the sky before being released
The model's origins can be traced to a local newspaper contest for six-to14-year-olds to see who could build the paper plane that would fly farthest.
The winner was Arturo Valdenegro, 12, who then used his plans to build a larger model named after him.
At the time of the flight, the Arizona Aerospace Foundation's executive director Yvonne Morris told The Telegraph: 'The arresting visual of the paper airplane in flight rekindled the childhood creativity in all of us
The massive Arturo Desert Eagle paper airplane is based on the winning design for a newspaper contest for six-to-14-year-olds
Made only of corrugated cardboard, the wings soon begin to come apart in the high winds
'The museum is thrilled to conduct the first-ever Great Paper Airplane Launch, part of our larger effort to inspire America's youth and spark a passion for aviation and engineering in the next generation.'
The plane was built with falcon board, which the LA Times described as a type of corrugated cardboard not unlike that used in a pizza box.
The plane plunges to the earth as the body begins to come apart
The remnants of the plane wait to be recovered after crash landing in the desert
The original model also had a helping design hand from Art Thompson in Lancaster, who helped in the design of the B-2 stealth bomber.
Assuming this year's model is similar to its 2012 counterpart, the 800-pound airplane had to be towed approximately 4,000 feet into the sky before being released.
As the video shows, the plane glides smoothly on the wind before bits of it begin to come apart and it crashes back to the earth.
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