Texas Man Attempts Guinness World Record for Paper Planes

If you’ve ever wondered if you can make a world record, don’t stop those dreams because one of our own is on his way to a world record! An East Texas man just turned a lifelong paper airplane habit into a world record. And it all started with boredom and folded church bulletins.

East Texas Man Turns Childhood Hobby Into World Record

Richard DeFreece of Tyler has officially set a new benchmark for folding paper airplanes in one hour, pending final confirmation from Guinness World Records.

As a kid, he says he made a beeline for the Guinness books at every school book fair. At one point, he picked up a paper airplane book and folded every design inside- from simple to complicated. If he got bored, he’d just fold a paper airplane.

Some kids passed notes. He built fleets.

Tyler Texas Crowd Watches Record Attempt Take Flight

Breaking a world record had always been on his bucket list. The only question was which one. Since he admits he’s not the fastest or the strongest, he began looking at more obscure categories.

When he learned the paper airplane record was within reach, he committed; spending about a year training and meeting Guinness requirements, including getting a plane design approved.

He ultimately chose the “dart” design because he trusted it would consistently fly at least 10 feet- a required distance. And every single plane had to be tested!

DeFreece even recruited a local attorney friend to act as an official witness and throw the planes. With about 30 people watching in Tyler, DeFreece folded 250 planes in one hour, surpassing the previous benchmark.

His arm? A little sore. Worth it.

Texas Dad Doesn’t Do Small Bucket List Goals

According to his daughters, this level of commitment is pretty normal.

Chloe DeFreece pointed out that her dad ran a 50-mile ultra marathon last year- and has a 100-mile race coming up! Mallory says he’s already planning his next challenge: applying for Big Brother.

From Scholastic book fairs to world record attempts, it’s safe to say this East Texas dad doesn’t dream small.

I may start training to beat the world record for fastest time to drink a Capri Sun.

Deep East Texas Places for a Scooby-Doo Mystery

Here it is, the list of places in our neck of the woods that you would most like find Scooby and the gang trying to catch the ghost/ghoul/monster/whatever!

Gallery Credit: Mark Cunningham