A "technical fiction" article called "Flying the Altostratus I," written by John McMasters and published in the February 1981 issue of Soaring magazine, inspired the team led by Gary B. Fogel to build and fly this radio-controlled model sailplane. McMasters wrote the article to protest the high cost of competition sailplanes which had continued to increase with only modest gains in performance. He described an ultra high-performance sailplane designed for all-out competition and equipped with tongue-in-cheek technology such as tail-warning radar and a leading edge made from the exotic and expensive metal "hyperballoy." So advanced was the aircraft that it could not be built until the 21st century but recent advances in model airplane design and construction technology encouraged Fogel and his team to construct this 1/5 scale flying duplicate of the sailplane depicted in the article.

Fogel's team used a software program called X-Plane to accurately simulate testing different versions of the Altostratus I model. Eighteen months were required to finish it and the flight tests compared well with the simulated test results except for one key area - wing stiffness. The model was so flexible that the wing tips undulated several inches in flight. Fogel and his team are working on a new version which they plan to construct using stiffer materials such as Kevlar.

Wing Span 5 m (16 ft 5 in)

Center Section Length 0.9 m (32 in)

Height .25 m (10 in)

Weight 2 kg (5 lb)

Built by Gary B. Fogel, Christopher Silva, and Cirino A. Silva

Gift of Gary B. Fogel