Hall of Fame - Vernon Gray

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Hall of Fame -> Vern Gray

Vern Gray (1923- )

Vern Gray was one of the outstanding early leaders in indoor flying in New Zealand. He joined the Auckland Model Aero Club in August 1931. He served on the committee in 1935 and 1937. He served on the NZMAA Council for a total of six years.

Vern set 16 indoor records between December 1935 and March 1993, starting with 6 min 29 sec for H/L Indoor Spar in 1935 to 16 min 16 sec for Class D Indoor in 1993. In 1937 he was awarded NZMAA Silver Medals for flying 13m 13.2s in Indoor Spar and 6m 40.2s for Indoor HL fuselage.

In International events, Vern took 7th place in the 1935 Moffett contest, and won the 1936 Moffett event. Together with Stan Eade and Ray Allen, Vern represented New Zealand in the Australian “Internationals” in 1938. He represented New Zealand in the 1948 Wakefield contest.

Frank Zaic published two of Vern’s Plans in the Frank Zaic 1938 Yearbook. These were Vern’s 1937 ROG indoor record holder, and his 1937 Moffett design.

Vern is remembered by his fellow club members for his meticulous attention to detail in both construction and trimming, for his original thinking in developing his designs for still higher performance, and for his relaxed reaction when he accidentally dropped his glasses on his F1D model at Kawarau, completely destroying it.

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