Have you ever tried to keep a paper airplane in the air for more than a few seconds? Well for one Japanese man, it's more than a hobby but a serious pursuit of a world record.

Takuo Toda is a man with a mission - a mission to fly as high and as long as possible with paper airplanes.

Toda is the current world champion in the field of paper airplane flying. On Thursday, he was challenging his own record of 27.91 seconds set in May 2009.

But Toda, who is also the president of the Japanese Paper Airplane Association, was not quite optimistic from the start.

[Takuo Toda, World Paper Airplane Champion]: (Japanese, male)
"It's 50-50. The air is too humid."

Official record keepers were there to verify his efforts for the Guinness World Records.

Toda spared no effort as he tweaked his paper planes at every try in order to account for the heavy humidity in the air.

Ultimately while some of his planes soared to above 66 feet up in the air, none stayed afloat longer than 22 seconds in the 10 tries allowed by the Guinness World Record rules. The times were well below his previous record.

Undeterred, Toda says he is ready to try break his own record again soon in better conditions.

[Takuo Toda, World Paper Airplane Flying Champion]: (Japanese, male)
"The air was heavy because of humidity. I felt the wings vibrating rapidly when I threw, which made it difficult for the plane to glide for a long time. Sadly, the record couldn't be extended this time, but I'll get it done in the near future."

Toda however did manage to inspire the audience, many tried to outdo the origami plane maestro.

[Rikuto Sakaida, Event Participant]: (Japanese, male)
"It was interesting because I could manipulate the way it flew."

Paper airplane flying has become a competitive sport in some European and Asian countries including Japan, where as many as hundred people participate in regional contests. Nine out of the top-ten longest glides have been set by Japanese.