The Glasair and GlaStar

Friday, June 01, 2012 at 08:06 PM ET

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Key Takeaways:

The Glasair and GlaStar aircraft were pivotal in transforming the world of composite homebuilt aviation.
The Glasair series, developed by inventor Tom Hamilton, evolved through several models (I, IIS, III) offering diverse configurations like tricycle, taildragger, and retractable gear, with the Glasair III boasting impressive speed and power.
The GlaStar, introduced in 1994, achieved significant success, individually outselling each Glasair model due to its popularity and versatility, including its effectiveness as a floatplane.

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How the Glasair and the GlaStar changed the world of composite homebuilts.

Glasair — Glasair I as a tricycle.

Glasair — Glasair I as a taildragger.

Tom Hamilton, Inventor of the Glasair — Tom Hamilton holding court at OshKosh ‘94, the year he introduced the GlaStar.

Glasair — The Glasair IIS in its tricycle configuration.

Glasair — The Glasair III, which actually preceded the IIS…the III is for 300 mph and 300 hp.

Glasair — The Glasair IIS in retractable format….near Mount Baker in Washington.

Glastar — The GlaStar…it outsold each model of the Glasair series, but not the series total.

Glastar — The GlaStar on floats….an ideal floatplane.

Glastar — GlaStar on final approach.

Glasair — Glasair 1 RG

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