.: About Us

I've been involved in RC cars and planes for over 20 years. Having always had interests in designing and building challenging things, I found the most enjoyment in anything that flies; rockets, u-control, free flight, and RC. My first stint in RC planes started on the slope with gliders. As my experience progressed, I found myself wanting higher performance aircraft. With the help of my mentors in RC, I ended up in slope racing and loved the challenge of competition and the thrill of victory. I had also started flying powered aircraft including some of the earliest high performance electric aircraft. While I continued to enjoy many aspects of RC flying, I caught the bug for pylon racing and in 1995 I competed for a spot on the U.S.A. F5D Pylon Racing Team. In the summer of 1996 I competed in the F5D World Championships in Prague, Czech Republic using hand-built brushless motors and composite airframes. Speeds were in the 130mph range and a couple of young college kids held their own to a bronze finish. Since then and 4 more World Championships around the globe, technology has made leaps and bounds and speeds are closing in on 200mph for a race legal set up. Building these aircraft required a knowledge of composites and aerodynamic principles. The experience gained over the years of building and flying cutting edge RC planes landed me in several employment opportunities in the UAV industry and even yacht manufacturing.

But, you can't always live in the fast lane and sometimes it's just as much fun flying foamies with a few buddies in the park. That's what my motive for the Grand Troy Prototype was from the beginning. I wanted to fly something that could both entertain myself and the 'peanut gallery' who think they've seen it all. It also had to perform well because a good flying plane is more fun than a bad flying plane. When you're use to planes that groove well, there's no going back. From the responses I've received so far, I feel I've accomplished my goal.

I certainly hope you'll find the G.T.P. as much fun as I have and I look forward to seeing how to bring out the 'Racer' in all of us.