Wayne Ison (June 28, 1924 – August 9, 2014) was an aircraft designer whose designs include the Airbike, Mini-MAX, Hi-MAX and PDQ-2. He first worked for the

Ford Motor Company Ford Motor Company (commonly known as Ford) is an American multinational automobile manufacturer headquartered in Dearborn, Michigan, United States. It was founded by Henry Ford and incorporated on June 16, 1903. The company sells automobi ...

, then received a

draft Draft, The Draft, or Draught may refer to: Watercraft dimensions * Draft (hull), the distance from waterline to keel of a vessel * Draft (sail), degree of curvature in a sail * Air draft, distance from waterline to the highest point on a vesse ...

notice following the U.S. entry into the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposi ...

. He served as a

Douglas C-47 Skytrain The Douglas C-47 Skytrain or Dakota ( RAF, RAAF, RCAF, RNZAF, and SAAF designation) is a military transport aircraft developed from the civilian Douglas DC-3 airliner. It was used extensively by the Allies during World War II and remained ...

radio operator during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

. He, along with others, formed the Tennessee Engineering And Manufacturing incorporated, known as TEAM Incorporated, to market his Mini-MAX design. Following a lawsuit, TEAM was dissolved with the transfer of the Mini-MAX and Airbike designs to

ISON Aircraft Ison, ISON or variant, may refer to: Geography * Isön, a small island in lake Storsjön, Jämtland, Sweden People First name / given name * Ison (rapper), stage name of Ison Glasgow, a Swedish rapper of American origin Last name / family name * D ...

. Ison was inducted into the

Experimental Aircraft Association The Experimental Aircraft Association (EAA) is an international organization of aviation enthusiasts based in Oshkosh, Wisconsin, United States. Since its inception, it has grown internationally with over 200,000 members and nearly 1,000 chapt ...

Ultralight Ultralight aviation (called microlight aviation in some countries) is the flying of lightweight, 1- or 2-seat fixed-wing aircraft. Some countries differentiate between weight-shift control and conventional three-axis control aircraft with aile ...

Hall of Fame in 2000. The Mini-MAX line, with the exception of the Airbike, is now marketed by Team Mini-Max.

References

Aircraft designers 2014 deaths 1924 births United States Army Air Forces personnel of World War II United States Army Air Forces soldiers {{aviation-bio-stub