modelr
SOH-CM-2025
I jumped the gun on this a bit guys, the picture shows the old cowl and two cockpits. Paul is doing a new longer cowl with correct exhaust ports and closing the front cockpit for the final version. It will be a true Gosney Ryan STA "Special 200".
I fell in love with this plane long ago when attending the Sig Manufacturing flyin in Montazuma Iowa. Back then Glen and Hazal Sigafoose owned the premier rc model company in the midwest called Sigs. They did everything in house, design, kits, testing, production and sales. They had a small airport with a grass strip outside of town for testing the models and also for flying their full sized planes. Glen and Hazel both flew Pitts Specials and did some areobatics during the yearly rc events they held there.
Max Hester worked at Sig and built a model of the Gosney Ryan Special that he entered in national contest. Sig also made a kit of that plane and it sold very well world wide. I saw the original rc version many times as I lived only an hour or so away from Sig and spent much time there flying rc and getting to know the guys. I have flown many versions of the rc Sig Ryan and they all looked and flew wonderfully.
Time passed and Sig was eventually sold and re-sold but still is putting out models today. Glen Sigafoose was killed flying his Pitts at an airshow many years ago and many of the old crew has left or retired from the company or started their own business in the model community.
As far as the real Gosney Special not much is known. There is very little on the internet and pictures are hard to come by. Wonder if that plane still exist and where it is today. Lucky for us though that Sig had detailed drawings and plans that were exact and very scale for us to keep it alive today in virtual form.
Max Hester with his award winning Sig Ryan and the real Gosney Special 200.
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TDR, I'm planning on going to the Sig Father's Day Fly-in this year, weather permitting. Will have my Ryan there, along with my Waco YMF-5 and F7F Tigercat.
If you decide to go, maybe we can meet up. Maybe sokotai might be there, also. He's a member of our R/C club in Marshalltown, Iowa, also. He took the picture of my Ryan in flight.

