Marin Aero Club - Flying Outdoors

Outdoors with the Marin Aero Club

Bay area modelers, look out! Local sculptor Gale Wagner has started building flying models, and they are beauties! Shown at right is a 30" model he designed with a bit of inspiration from the Sig Tiger kit. Dubbed the Iron Horse due to its 80 gram empty weight, it sports a 30" wingspan and seems to fly as if it were the latest in a long line of sucessful designs. It will easily outfly the MAC field if he is not careful with power and thermals.

Another of Gale's projects is shown to the left. It started life from the Flyline Monocoupe plans but was changed extensively. The entire nose is original, inspired by " ... a little bit of Silveraire, some Aeronca, some Cub, and a few others as well." The wing is also a departure from the plans, being a mix of the drawings, and "what looks right". Empty weight, with just the prop and rubber to go, is 62 grams with a 32" span. When Gale brought this out to the field, we couldn't resist. The balance was right on, and we gave it a few test glides without a prop. Now finished, it is a real floater, and is restricted to flying indoors at Moffett for fear of loss.

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