Applebay Sailplanes was an American

aircraft manufacturer An aerospace manufacturer is a company or individual involved in the various aspects of designing, building, testing, selling, and maintaining aircraft, aircraft parts, missiles, rockets, or spacecraft. Aerospace is a high technology industry. ...

, founded by George Applebay and based in

Albuquerque, New Mexico Albuquerque ( ; ), ; kee, Arawageeki; tow, Vakêêke; zun, Alo:ke:k'ya; apj, Gołgéeki'yé. abbreviated ABQ, is the most populous city in the U.S. state of New Mexico. Its nicknames, The Duke City and Burque, both reference its founding in ...

. The company specialized in the design and manufacture of sailplanes in the form of ready-to-fly type certified aircraft, as well as some experimental types.Said, Bob: ''1983 Sailplane Directory,

Soaring Magazine ''SOARING'' is a magazine published monthly as a membership benefit of the Soaring Society of America. It was first published in 1937. The headquarters is in Hobbs, New Mexico. The magazine's article topics include safety issues and accounts of ind ...

'', page 34, 48 and 133. Soaring Society of America November 1983. USPS 499-920Simons, Martin. ''Sailplanes 1965-2000”. 2nd revised edition. EQIP Werbung und Verlag G.m.b.H.. Königswinter. 2005.

History

George Applebay's first sailplane design constructed was the

Applebay GA-II Chiricahua The Applebay GA-II Chiricahua is an American high-wing, single-seat, FAI Standard Class glider that was designed and constructed by George Applebay, first flying in 1970. Design and development Applebay started the Chiricahua as a standard cla ...

, a wood and

fabric Textile is an umbrella term that includes various fiber-based materials, including fibers, yarns, filaments, threads, different fabric types, etc. At first, the word "textiles" only referred to woven fabrics. However, weaving is not the ...

glider for the FAI Standard Class that first flew in 1970. Only one Chiricahua was built. In 1975 he flew the prototype Applebay GA-111 Mescalero, a mixed metal and

fiberglass Fiberglass (American English) or fibreglass (Commonwealth English) is a common type of fiber-reinforced plastic using glass fiber. The fibers may be randomly arranged, flattened into a sheet called a chopped strand mat, or woven into glass cloth ...

FAI Open Class Competition classes in gliding, as in other sports, mainly exist to ensure fairness in competition. However the classes have not been targeted at fostering technological development as in other sports. Instead classes have arisen because of: * t ...

glider. The Mescalero was intended for production, but Applebay decided to concentrate on his next design, the all-fiberglass Zuni for the

15m class Competition classes in gliding, as in other sports, mainly exist to ensure fairness in competition. However the classes have not been targeted at fostering technological development as in other sports. Instead classes have arisen because of: * t ...

instead and only one Mescalero was completed. The Zuni was designed in 1975.''Applebay Zuni II''
National Air and Space Museum. Accessed 2010-11-05. Flight testing of the Zuni started in November 1976 and the aircraft was put into production by a new company Applebay formed for the purpose called Aero Tek. The aircraft was quite competitive in 1976 and placed well in regional competitions. A fatal accident, as a result of a structural failure, in May 1977 forced Aero Tek out of business in 1978, but a new company was formed to continue Zuni production, Applebay Sailplanes. The improved Zuni II, with Kevlar construction was introduced, but production ended in 1983 after only 20 Zunis in total had been completed, due to the lack of competitiveness of the design by that date and the high

US dollar The United States dollar (symbol: $; code: USD; also abbreviated US$ or U.S. Dollar, to distinguish it from other dollar-denominated currencies; referred to as the dollar, U.S. dollar, American dollar, or colloquially buck) is the official ...

, that made competition with European imports difficult. The

Applebay Zia The Applebay Zia is an American, single-seat, high-wing, twin-boom, pusher configuration motor glider that was designed by George Applebay for the 1982 Sailplane Homebuilders Association Homebuilt Sailplane Design Contest. The aircraft was int ...

twin-boom motor glider was introduced in 1983 but only four were built, including the prototype. In 2000, George Applebay was inducted into the

Soaring Hall of Fame The Soaring Hall of Fame recognizes individuals who have made the highest achievements in, or contributions to, the sport of soaring in the United States of America. It has been located at the National Soaring Museum in Elmira, New York, since 19 ...

and went on to found the US Southwest Soaring Museum in Moriarty, New Mexico, which was conceived in 1995 and opened in 2006. Applebay died in April 2015 at age 89.

Aircraft

References

External links

{{Applebay Sailplanes Defunct aircraft manufacturers of the United States Glider manufacturers