The Wag-Aero Group is 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 indust ...

that was founded by Dick and Bobbie Wagner in the 1960s and is based in

Lyons, Wisconsin Lyons is a town in Walworth County, Wisconsin, United States. The population was 3,648 at the 2020 census. The unincorporated communities of Lyons and Springfield are located within the town. History It was originally created as Hudson by ...

. The company specializes in the design and manufacture of

kit aircraft Homebuilt aircraft, also known as amateur-built aircraft or kit planes, are constructed by persons for whom this is not a professional activity. These aircraft may be constructed from "scratch", from plans, or from assembly kits.Armstrong, Kenn ...

and

aircraft part An aircraft part is an article or component approved for installation on a type-certificated aircraft. Approval for these parts is derived from the jurisdictions of the countries that an aircraft is based. In the United States, the Federal Aviatio ...

s for amateur construction.Purdy, Don: ''AeroCrafter - Homebuilt Aircraft Sourcebook, Fifth Edition'', pages 289-290, 367-374, 381-396, 401 and 407. BAI Communications, 15 July 1998. Plane and Pilot: ''1978 Aircraft Directory'', page 159. Werner & Werner Corp, Santa Monica CA, 1977. Bayerl, Robby; Martin Berkemeier; et al: ''World Directory of Leisure Aviation 2011-12'', page 126. WDLA UK, Lancaster UK, 2011. Downey, Julia: ''1999 Kit Aircraft Directory'', Kitplanes, Volume 15, Number 12, December 1998, page 75-76. Primedia Publications. The company is owned by Bill Read and Mary Myers.

Divisions

The Wag-Aero Group of companies includes several aerospace divisions from acquisitions, including: * Aero Fabricators * Ground Support Manufacturing, Inc * Leading Edge Air Foils * Safe Air Repair * Viking Aero

History

Wag-Aero was started by Dick and Bobbie Wagner in the 1960s and run from the basement of their home in Lyons, Wisconsin. In 1971 the company moved into permanent quarters and an aerodrome was constructed to accommodate fly-in customers, now known as Wag-Aero Airport (WI92). The company formed a subsidiary, Aero Fabricators, in the 1970s to make welded and sheet metal aircraft parts, plus seat belts. On 1 September 1995 the Wagners sold the group of companies to Bill Read and Mary Myers. In 1997 they purchased Viking Aero and in April 2002 acquired Ground Support Manufacturing, Inc. In 2005 they bought Safe Air Repair, a parts manufacturer. Ultralight parts supplier Leading Edge Air Foils (LEAF) was also added to the group.

Products

In addition to aircraft parts, the company supplies parts and kits to construct several light aircraft designs, all based on 1930s and 1940s Piper Aircraft models.Vandermeullen, Richard: ''2011 Kit Aircraft Buyer's Guide'', Kitplanes, Volume 28, Number 12, December 2011, page 76. Belvoir Publications. The Wag-Aero CUBy, a

Piper J-3 The Piper J-3 Cub is an American light aircraft that was built between 1938 and 1947 by Piper Aircraft. The aircraft has a simple, lightweight design which gives it good low-speed handling properties and short-field performance. The Cub is Pi ...

replica, was designed by Dick Wagner and first flew on 12 March 1975. It is offered in several different models and variants including the Acro Trainer, Observer, Sport Trainer and Super Sport. The

Wag-Aero Wag-a-Bond The Wag-Aero Wag-a-Bond is a high-wing two-seat side-by-side homebuilt aircraft of tube-and-fabric construction. It is replica of the Piper Vagabond taildragger and produced by Wag-Aero in kit form.Vandermeullen, Richard: ''2011 Kit Aircraft Buy ...

was also designed by Dick Wagner as a Piper PA-17 Vagabond replica and first flew on 9 June 1978. The Wag-Aero Sportsman 2+2, also known as the

Wag-Aero CHUBy CUBy The Wag-Aero CHUBy CUBy is a high-wing four-seat Homebuilt aircraft, homebuilt cabin monoplane of tube-and-fabric construction, it is a modern representation of the Piper PA-14 Family Cruiser, Piper PA-14 taildragger with elements from other Pi ...

, was designed by Dick Wagner and Tom Iverson as a

Piper PA-14 Family Cruiser The Piper PA-14 Family Cruiser is an American-built small touring aircraft of the late 1940s. Design and development Piper Aircraft had built the PA-12 Super Cruiser three-seat touring aircraft between early 1946 and March 1948. In 1947, the ...

replica and first flew on 8 May 1982.

Aircraft

References

External links

* {{LEAF aircraft Aircraft manufacturers of the United States Ultralight aircraft Homebuilt aircraft Companies based in Wisconsin Walworth County, Wisconsin