Maple Leaf Design began in 1995 as a cottage industry with a passion for building state-of-the-art radio controlled sailplanes. The team consists of Don Peters and Phil Pearson with over 75 years of combined experience in composite design and construction.

The company's mission is to build the absolute best sailplane models possible. Our design process starts with computer-modeled performance prediction. Airfoils, planforms and moments are then computer-designed and optimized to fit the computer model.

Most parts are built in molds taken from CNC (computer numeric controlled) machined master patterns. All masters, molds and parts are hand-built in the United States using the finest materials available. Our planes are thoroughly field-tested for flight performance and durability. They include comprehensive owner's manuals to assure accurate building and flight setup.

Maple Leaf Design is proud to be one of the leading manufacturers of high quality radio control sailplane models in the world. We're pushing the envelope so our clients can fly and enjoy better sailplanes.

The Icon2 is our newest state-of-the-art unlimited sailplane designed for thermal duration and F3J contest formats. It was designed as a collaborative effort between Dr. Mark Drela of MIT and Phil Pearson and Don Peters, principals in Maple Leaf Design. Testing and development has been done by World Champion pilots Daryl Perkins, Arend Borst and Skip Miller.

Wings, stabs and fuselage parts are built using molds taken from CNC-machined masters to assure accuracy. We have our own CNC router system, which allows us to completely tool the plane in-house.

The Icon2 is hand-built in Arizona of the finest composite materials available. It is delivered complete with carbon pushrods installed, flush-mounted wing servo covers and pushrod fairings and all hardware including 1100 gm (38 ounces) of ballast in the form of square brass slugs. All parts are molded with high performance epoxy, then post-cured in an oven. All parts are painted in the molds with two-component acrylic polyurethane paint. Standard colors are white, yellow, orange, red, dark blue, black, magenta, chartreuse, lime green and forest green.

The wing is capable of full-power winch or hand-tow launches. It is a bolt-on three piece assembly with hollow carbon joiners. Wing construction uses our proven hollow-molded system with all-carbon skins and high-modulus carbon spar caps. It is delivered completely finished with wiring harness installed and ready for servo installation.

The fuselage is compatible with 2.4 GHz radio systems. The fuse parts are pressure-molded of carbon and S-glass. The FAI nose cone is specially designed to “stick” landings. Thin carbon pushrods are carried in Teflon housings works-installed internally in the tail boom.

The empennage is hollow-molded using carbon and glass skins and foam cores with carbon spar caps. The removable bolt-on fin/rudder molding is works-installed onto the carbon fuse. The horizontal stab is a one-piece molding bolted to a robust carbon V-mount.

Final assembly is detailed with large color photos in the owner's manual on CD. The adjustable tow hook and wing mounting system are factory-installed. The fuse requires the end user to assemble the tail boom, ballast tube, and inner nose. All the holes are cut, and the servo tray is factory-routed for battery and servos.

Technical Specifications:

Pricing:

If you are interested in ordering an Icon2 or have any questions, please feel free to contact me:

Don Peters - don@mapleleafdesign.com

Maple Leaf Design
9997 E. Morrill Way
Tucson, AZ 85749

520.465.6420