It was a flight of both the fancy and the plain, the exotically engineered and the good old mundane.

A rumpled pile of shoes at the high school gym door welcomed over 42 stocking-footed participants of all ages to the 15th Orcas Island Kiwanis paper airplane contest, where they created and flew paper airplanes of all shapes and sizes: triangular, square-shouldered, snub-nosed, or built like a Star Wars spacecraft.

Although how-to-books lay open on tables to provide instruction, many worked on their own innovations: Scott Heisinger worked on a bird he called the “Scott Special” and Rick Boucher intently crafted a quirky design involving several round paper hoops cobbled together with Scotch tape.

Little ones could be seen scampering all over the gym through a flurry of practice shots, as teens and adults discussed the finer points of paper airplane engineering. Some creations flew straight and true; others did loop-de-loops, angled down in graceful curves, or even nosedived in an appalling fall from glory. A folding table loaded with brown paper bags filled with prizes and medals awaited the happy winners of each contest. Prizes included matchbox cars and airplanes, and Whitewings high performance paper glider kits.

“We all had loads of fun,” said Kiwanis organizer Lynn Richards. “I want to thank the (16) fellow Kiwanians who helped on Saturday. Without them this never would have happened. Thanks to the school district for use of the gym. We thank the Key Club members for their participation,” said Richards. “And most of all I want to thank the kids and parents who came inside on a beautiful Saturday afternoon to throw pieces of paper all over the gym.”

Winners, by category, included the following:

8 and under: Tashi Litch won 3rd place in distance and time aloft; Leonai Van Patten won 1st place in accuracy and 2nd in distance; Keegan Disario won 2nd in accuracy; Sabrina won 2nd in time aloft and 3rd in accuracy; Kupono Annenue won 1st in distance; and Christian Heisinger won 1st in time aloft.

9 to 12 years: Wylie Kau won 1st in accuracy and 3rd in time aloft; Ronan Kau won 2nd in time aloft; Ryan Flint won 2nd in accuracy; Melanie Flint won 1st in time aloft and 3rd in accuracy; and in distance Anthony Kaskura won 1st , Christian Bailey won 2nd, and Stephen Bodenhamer won 3rd.

13 and over: Jonathan Carrick won 1st in accuracy, 2nd in distance and 2nd in time aloft; Scott Heisinger won 1st in distance and 1st in time aloft; Chris Sutton won 3rd in distance; Carol Sutton won 3rd in accuracy; and Jordan Jefferson won 3rd in time aloft.