Balsa wood gliders used cost a 10-25 cents apiece, but today start at $1.50 and go up to several dollars. Guillow also makes both un-powered and powered remote control planes from plastic foam ...

My son, Ian, is working on a 7th grade science project, and is studying what wing position works best for maximum glide — that is, for a balsa wood glider launched from our roof.

Thanks to a man named Paul K Guillow, balsa was crafted into small, handheld gliders in 1928. It came out of the aviation craze after Charles Lindbergh’s spectacular transatlantic flight from ...