Think making paper airplanes would never take you anywhere in life? Think again.

Red Bull energy drink’s first Red Bull Paper Wings contest was held this year, and on April 19, paper airplanes were flying in the Student Rec Center basketball courts. Students held hopes of making the finals in either the category of distance or hang time to receive an all expense trip to Salzburg, Austria. Eastern student Jorge Sanchez was one of four lucky American finalists who got that chance.

“About three weeks later [after the contest] I received a phone call saying that I won an all-expense paid trip to the paper airplane world finals in Salzburg, Austria,” Sanchez said. “This was my first time ever going overseas, and all because of a paper airplane!”

Sanchez’s plane flew for 117 ft. 8 in, taking the win in the distance category in the Eastern U.S. sector (divided at the Mississippi River).

My paper airplane was nothing special, I just folded it a couple of times here and there, and that was about it,” Sanchez said.

According to Red Bull Spokeswoman Ellen Applen, the contest was started as a way to bring young engineers and plane enthusiasts together to test their airplane knowledge and skills on the most basic level: contestants could only use one sheet of paper and could not glue, use scissors, or alter their planes in any way.

Utah State aviation student Randy Fischer won in the West for best hang time with 9.28 seconds, and unlike Sanchez, took his flight a little more seriously.

“Make sure the paper’s flat, no wrinkles, symmetrical, weighted properly, don’t touch the trailing edge of the wing,” Fischer remarked.

Sanchez and Fischer, along with Fischer’s fellow Utah State aviation student Greg Morris, and Purdue University student Sergey Sandler stayed in Austria May 4-8 and competed against 47 other countries at the competition on May 6.

Sanchez said he finished around 15th place in the competition, with Brazilian Diniz Nogueira Nunes winning in airtime at 11.5 seconds and Croation Jovica Kozlica winning in distance at 129 ft.

Even though he did not finish in the finals, Eastern alumnus Kevin Vesper was only beat in hang time by .28 seconds. His plane flew for 9 seconds.

“My buddy made the plane for me. I threw it sidearm, and it just started circling around,” Vesper said.

Although it is not certain if the contest will return again next year, Vesper, Sanchez and Fischer all agreed they would definitely do it again.