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• CASI Ottawa Branch | 2026 CASI+CMAS Paper Airplane Competition

  • When
    September 29, 2026
  •  
    17:30 - 20:00
  • Location
    Field House, University Drive, Carleton University 1125 Colonel By Drive, Ottawa
  • Spaces left
    71

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  CASI Ottawa Branch 2026 CASI+CMAS Paper Airplane Competition 2026.09.29 | 17:30 - 20:00 EDT A CASI In-person Event Jointly sponsored by: Carleton University Faculty of Engineering and Design and CMAS

  Guest Speaker Paul Penna | CASI Ottawa and Retired National Research Council Aerodynamics Lab Host Jeff Bird | CASI Ottawa Location Field House, University Drive, Carleton University, 1125 Colonel By Drive, Ottawa Parking Parking is at P5 Meeting Details This month, our Ottawa Branch Meeting will be held at the indoor soccer facility of Carleton University’s Field House which is an excellent venue in which to conduct a paper airplane competition. The meeting will consist of a short “show and tell” presentation in which our speaker will highlight some of the unique aerodynamic features of typical delta-wing paper airplanes, such as the typical “delta dart” with which most people are familiar. An interesting feature of the Delta Dart is that the airflow over the upper surface of its wing differs radically from that over a typical unswept wing. The magnitude of leading-edge wing sweep which leads to this “radical” flow will be discussed. Paul Penna presenting at last year’s event The presentation will also explain how the placement of the Center of Gravity of the airplane affects its flight path and how the use of reflex camber at the trailing edge of the wing provides for stable flight. Our speaker will introduce one or two members of the Ottawa free-flight model airplane club who are keen to demonstrate how, without the benefit of radio-control, a model aircraft must be adjusted in order to fly in a stable, and somewhat predictable, circular flight path. Finally, the Carleton University student attendees will conduct and participate in the paper airplane competition. Guest Profile Paul Penna graduated in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Toronto in 1973 with a specialization in Fluid Mechanics.  After graduation, he held engineering positions with the Department of National Defence and Measurement Canada. From 1980 to 2010 he was a Research Officer with the Aerodynamics Laboratory of the National Research Council of Canada. Here, he conducted field trials and wind tunnel tests of Vertical Axis Wind Turbines, investigated how ground icing degrades the aerodynamic performance of aircraft wings, and carried out wind tunnel tests of various bluff-body objects, such as parachutes and automobiles. Paul is a long-time member of CASI, served on the Executive of the Ottawa Branch for a number of years and was the Chief Judge for the annual CASI Free-Flight Glider Competition from 2000 to 2012. Registration Fees CASI and CMAS Members | Complimentary Non-Members | $10.00 Join CASI today and save! Register Now

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