Paper airplane tattoo brings us back to childhood. It brings memories and moments when we didn’t worry about a thing. How carefree we were playing and doing stuff that we just wanted to do. With paper planes, we used to send secret messages in class or just to have a fun time when we were bored. If you are looking for a nostalgic tattoo, this is a perfect choice. Let’s take a look at the examples and meaning of paper airplane.
Paper airplane – the memory of our childhood
One of the first things that pop into the head while thinking of a paper airplane is our childhood years. The time when we didn’t have to worry about job, money, house, and other adult stuff. We only cared about friends, games, and toys. Some of the kids didn’t have that many toys, so they needed to do it themselves. From a wooden sword to a water bottle gun – most of their toys were hand made. Although we couldn’t call paper airplane a toy, it is one of those things that kids used to make to kill their boredom.
Messenger of love
Do you remember when during class kids used to toss paper airplanes with secret messages in them? Well, even if you don’t – it’s a common thing that children do. Most of those messages contained jokes or love confessions. Quite often people get a paper airplane tattoo as a symbol of their childhood love that lasts even until today. If you’re one of those lucky people who met their love of life in their childhood – the paper airplane is a perfect choice for you.
Paper airplane tattoo meaning
One of the most obvious paper airplane tattoo meaning is childhood and its memories. It can represent something very special that happened to you in your childhood years. It could be a symbol of a lifelong friend which you met when you were kids. Or it can signify some special event that happened in your childhood. As it represents our childhood, a paper airplane tattoo may symbolize your hopes and dreams. It may be a reminder to never stop dreaming. Paper airplane is also a symbol of creativity. So, such a tattoo may symbolize your wish to never grow up inside. It can also refer to your childish character or a creative mind.
Some of the kids don’t have real toys, so they have to make their own. This expresses a pure child’s wish to have something that he is fascinated about. He or she will do anything to achieve the goal: ‘I don’t have a real airplane? No problem! I will make one!’ So, a paper airplane could also symbolize the desire to achieve something. And it doesn’t matter whether it’s a childhood dream or something you just realized you want.
Another paper airplane tattoo meaning is a desire to travel. There are lots of people who love to discover the world, new places, cultures and meet new people. They like to get out of their daily lives and experience something new. Traveling helps us to become more tolerant. When we meet new people, we learn to understand others and those that are different from us. Finally, we learn to love our life more as we experience all kinds of situations. So, a paper airplane tattoo may symbolize all of these things. It can signify a specific place you’ve visited and will never forget. Or it could be a reminder to travel more often.
The origins of a foldable paper plane
Paper airplanes, as well as other folded paper objects, originated from Japan. This technique of paper folding is called origami. It is a compound of two Japanese words ori (folding) and kami (paper). Origami became popular shortly after Chinese started to manufacture paper, approximately 420 BCE. But of course, it is impossible to find when and where the first paper airplane was made.
Although paper airplane may look like a toy, it actually contributed to the modern aeronautics. The first powered flight pioneers have studied paper airplanes to designing their larger models. Some of these were Da Vinci, George Cayley, Alberto Santos-Dumont, and others.
Nowadays, paper airplanes are a hobby for many enthusiasts. These people made significant improvements to a classic paper airplane. After many years of development, a modern paper airplane has a very high flight performance. A professional paper airplane can fly a distance of 300ft. And the world record for keeping a paper airplane aloft belongs to Ken Blackburn. He managed to keep his paper in the air for 27.6 seconds.
Paper airplane tattoo ideas
There are lots of different paper airplane styles. Some are much more complex and can fly 200-300ft. But it’s quite difficult to make a decent paper plane that could fly at least 100 ft. If you ever made a paper plane, you know what we’re talking about.
With this in mind, there are lots of possibilities for paper airplane tattoos. Maybe you have made a model that you’re super proud – you could capture it on your skin. For those who would like just to have a symbol on their skin, we recommend simple and minimalist designs. But you don’t have to stick to a certain idea. Take a look at our collection below and see if you’ll find anything that catches your eye. If you can’t find a perfect design – don’t worry. Just take your time. You will eventually stumble upon your dream idea.
If you’re struggling with ideas, take some of those that you like to your tattoo artist. Ask him/her to do some sketching for you. Describe exactly what you want. Also, take a look at our airplane tattoo ideas.
Gallery
Cover image via stephen_doyle_tattoo
