The AME Dassel and the early days of F3B

[OribaSJ88]

I'm just curious if there are others out there that have an interest in the early days of F3B and, more specifically, the introduction of the Dassel, the first fully molded sailplane to see competition in F3B--or any event--to my knowledge. I've been a huge fan of since I first learned about it back in the late seventies when I spent a year in Belgium. It would really show its age compared to today's designs. But, wow! It made a huge impact back--yikes--almost 50 years ago. The rather "ubiquitous" molded sailplanes we have today can trace their heritage back to the Dassel. For those who may not know, it was designed and built by an Austrian team, AME, and it won the 1979 F3B World Championship. While originally designed as a slope sailplane with a span of just over two meters and looking nothing like the competition, it managed to dominate the F3B competition scene in Europe from 1977 through 1979. I was really hoping I would see them at one of the F3B competitions I attended while in Europe, but I never heard of them competing after the '79 WC.

I've been searching for a while to find more detailed info on the design and other tidbits of its history. Other than basic info, I didn't see much published in US magazines of the time. I stumbled across a few web pages on a French site that has scans of old RC magazines. I've included a few pages of them here. The Dassel clearly left an impression on the author and he clearly wasn't the only one. Mercifully, Google has done the hard work of translation for non-French speakers. They're a nice look back to a time when designs and construction techniques were still evolving at a breakneck pace. The originals can be found at www.rc-paper.com. There are quite a few articles on the early years of F3B for anyone interested. I can share more if there's interest. It's amazing to see how much designs changed in the first 10 years of F3B competitions.

Another page on a German forum that might be of interest to some is the following: https://www.rc-network.de/threads/er...opment.399563/

If anyone else happens to have any info to share, I'd love to see it. I somehow figured that German forums would have tons of info, but I haven't found as much as I'd hoped. And, for all the above sites, Google and Apple both do a pretty good job of translating text, web pages and text on images.

Ollie

 

[Doc J]

The resurrected Sailplanes International in UK is offering a kit of the "Sitar Special" - almost a Dassel.

Shop

Discover our exclusive range of R/C products in the Shop. Quality radio control items await for your unique style and needs!

www.powerandsailplanesinternational.co.uk

Doc.

 

[OribaSJ88]

The resurrected Sailplanes International in UK is offering a kit of the "Sitar Special" - almost a Dassel.

Shop

Discover our exclusive range of R/C products in the Shop. Quality radio control items await for your unique style and needs!

www.powerandsailplanesinternational.co.uk

Doc.

Doc, I've seen it. It was an interesting offering back in the day. If they offered it with a molded wing, I'd probably be more interested. I'm not sure what I'd think about a model with an Eppler 193 in 2025. Quabeck and RG airfoils showed up in the early '80s and I'm not sure the sailplane world ever looked back.

Friends told me back when I was living abroad that many copied the form of the Dassel (Multiplex Flamingo, Sitar Special and a plethora of personal designs), but none captured the precision of their design, their molded tech along with the teamwork that they demonstrated at competitions. I was very grateful to a Belgian friend took me under his wing and taught me vacuum bagging and how to make a molded fuselage. But, I never made a wing mold. I'm sure I don't have to tell you how rare a molded wing was back in the early '80s

Did you go to any of the international F3B competitions back in the early years of F3B in Europe? There were (are still?) several scattered across Europe every year. They were amazing affairs, well, at least to the teenager I was back then. They were almost like mini World Championships. Competitors came from all over the EU and there were almost as many different designs as nationalities. Good times...

Ollie

 

[Wayne]

Interesting to see Sailplane International popping back up. That is neat to see.

I debated posting the following.. I don't like attacking someone's work, but this just seems really poor.

Comparing the new Osprey with the classic version is interesting. I'd be willing to bet you could snap that outer wing panel off in flight once the flutter starts up, and would think the flutter will start pretty soon after putting the nose down. I'm assuming this is mostly balsa ribs.. Yikes.

Compare that to the original:

Drastically different models. He didn't even keep the pretty tail structure. And he added ailerons? Uggh, I assume he did not fly it before putting it up on the site as those are going to work like poop.

Only an Osprey in shape.

 

[Red]

I'm just curious if there are others out there that have an interest in the early days of F3B and, more specifically, the introduction of the Dassel, the first fully molded sailplane to see competition in F3B--or any event--to my knowledge. I've been a huge fan of since I first learned about it back in the late seventies when I spent a year in Belgium. It would really show its age compared to today's designs. But, wow! It made a huge impact back--yikes--almost 50 years ago. The rather "ubiquitous" molded sailplanes we have today can trace their heritage back to the Dassel. For those who may not know, it was designed and built by an Austrian team, AME, and it won the 1979 F3B World Championship. While originally designed as a slope sailplane with a span of just over two meters and looking nothing like the competition, it managed to dominate the F3B competition scene in Europe from 1977 through 1979. I was really hoping I would see them at one of the F3B competitions I attended while in Europe, but I never heard of them competing after the '79 WC.

I've been searching for a while to find more detailed info on the design and other tidbits of its history. Other than basic info, I didn't see much published in US magazines of the time. I stumbled across a few web pages on a French site that has scans of old RC magazines. I've included a few pages of them here. The Dassel clearly left an impression on the author and he clearly wasn't the only one. Mercifully, Google has done the hard work of translation for non-French speakers. They're a nice look back to a time when designs and construction techniques were still evolving at a breakneck pace. The originals can be found at www.rc-paper.com. There are quite a few articles on the early years of F3B for anyone interested. I can share more if there's interest. It's amazing to see how much designs changed in the first 10 years of F3B competitions.

Another page on a German forum that might be of interest to some is the following: https://www.rc-network.de/threads/er...opment.399563/

If anyone else happens to have any info to share, I'd love to see it. I somehow figured that German forums would have tons of info, but I haven't found as much as I'd hoped. And, for all the above sites, Google and Apple both do a pretty good job of translating text, web pages and text on images.

Ollie

I remember reading about the speed record attempt as a kid and being blown away that a glider could go that fast, and the ensuing doubt that followed it. There was quite a bit of people who didn't believe it was possible. The record at the time (going from memory here so please don't hold me too close for accuracy) was around 118mph, and they went something like 172. The controversy came from using hand timed traps, thumb latency etc. and other claiming that terminal velocity and other factors from the height they started proved that it wasn't possible. Later they made another attempt that was extremely well documented, used photocell timing etc. and went well over 200mph. something like 230+. Very heady stuff at the time.

 

[OribaSJ88]

I remember reading about the speed record attempt as a kid and being blown away that a glider could go that fast, and the ensuing doubt that followed it. There was quite a bit of people who didn't believe it was possible. The record at the time (going from memory here so please don't hold me too close for accuracy) was around 118mph, and they went something like 172. The controversy came from using hand timed traps, thumb latency etc. and other claiming that terminal velocity and other factors from the height they started proved that it wasn't possible. Later they made another attempt that was extremely well documented, used photocell timing etc. and went well over 200mph. something like 230+. Very heady stuff at the time.

Red, yes, I remember that speed record as well. It was the same team using a different model but with the same construction techniques. I had to look up the numbers and found an old Model Aviation article on the two attempts. The original claim was 188 mph and, when questioned regarding its accuracy, they remade their record attempt using a far more accurate timing system and claimed 242 mph! Darn impressive! It raised more than a few eyebrows given that the powered speed record at the time was less than that.

Oddly enough, the first molded sailplane, belonging to a friend, that I ever flew was a one whose design was heavily inspired by the Pfeil, the speed record holder back then. It had a similar fuselage shape, unswept, constant chord wing with an E182 airfoil and a span around 2 meters. I can't remember its name but it had a taped-on wing and I wonder if it was an early incarnation of the Erwin. It flew pretty darn well and the original owner used it in an RCM Trophy Race if memory serves me correctly. It seemed amazing to me back in the early 80s, but it was a pretty crude early attempt to make molded sailplane for sale to the masses. It had none of the accuracy or refinement of the AME team's designs. Still, I would have loved to have one of my own but they were hard to get (i.e., go to Europe and pick it up!). I made a 2m glass over foam bagged wing with an E182 for a 2m design back then and for the life of me I can't remember what ever happened to it. It likely fell victim to a man-on-man slope race

Ollie

 

[Red]

Red, yes, I remember that speed record as well. It was the same team using a different model but with the same construction techniques. I had to look up the numbers and found an old Model Aviation article on the two attempts. The original claim was 188 mph and, when questioned regarding its accuracy, they remade their record attempt using a far more accurate timing system and claimed 242 mph! Darn impressive! It raised more than a few eyebrows given that the powered speed record at the time was less than that.

Oddly enough, the first molded sailplane, belonging to a friend, that I ever flew was a one whose design was heavily inspired by the Pfeil, the speed record holder back then. It had a similar fuselage shape, unswept, constant chord wing with an E182 airfoil and a span around 2 meters. I can't remember its name but it had a taped-on wing and I wonder if it was an early incarnation of the Erwin. It flew pretty darn well and the original owner used it in an RCM Trophy Race if memory serves me correctly. It seemed amazing to me back in the early 80s, but it was a pretty crude early attempt to make molded sailplane for sale to the masses. It had none of the accuracy or refinement of the AME team's designs. Still, I would have loved to have one of my own but they were hard to get (i.e., go to Europe and pick it up!). I made a 2m glass over foam bagged wing with an E182 for a 2m design back then and for the life of me I can't remember what ever happened to it. It likely fell victim to a man-on-man slope race

Ollie

Such cool stuff! The first molded plane I saw was at my local site Gravity Hill near where Aloft is now in Rohnert Park. A friend named Sam Schiller had it and it was called a Keroas, not sure if that was the spelling. Swept constant chord wing and T tail, early to mid 80's, for sure out of Europe somewhere. Absolutely enthralling! Wished I could find one of those now. Might have been made by Jaro Muller? Does it ring a bell?

 

[Wayne]

First bagged plane I saw was around that same time frame at a slope race near LAX. Remember being blown away with the quality of the build. Don't recall the first fully molded as I think that revolution hit So Cal late as we had so much scratch building going on in that time frame. That and I hung out with the PSS crowd. We were a backwards bunch of hillbillies having fun. LOL

 

[OribaSJ88]

Such cool stuff! The first molded plane I saw was at my local site Gravity Hill near where Aloft is now in Rohnert Park. A friend named Sam Schiller had it and it was called a Keroas, not sure if that was the spelling. Swept constant chord wing and T tail, early to mid 80's, for sure out of Europe somewhere. Absolutely enthralling! Wished I could find one of those now. Might have been made by Jaro Muller? Does it ring a bell?

Yes! That rings a bell. It was a Multiplex kit called Karo As (Ace of Diamonds). I flew one of those once, too. The same (very lucky) friend managed to acquire one. It had about the same level of quality as the first molded plane I flew but don't remember it flying as well. The links I found said it had an Eppler 180 and that sounds right. Maybe 1.8 meter span? The German site, rc-network.de, has a more info on old kits that never really made it easily to the US. Check to see if the following couple of photos ring are what you remember.

I also found a photo of the first molded sailplane I flew although I am almost sure the one I flew had flaps. I thought it might have been called "Whisper" and it was. It did indeed have an E182. Apparently it was made by an Austrian named Karl Masopust. I found a couple of pix. I also found mention that he offered an E193 version similar to the Dassel back in the day. There were a lot of really cool sailplane offerings coming out of Europe in the late '70s and early '80s that never made it to our shores. A pity.

 

[OribaSJ88]

First bagged plane I saw was around that same time frame at a slope race near LAX. Remember being blown away with the quality of the build. Don't recall the first fully molded as I think that revolution hit So Cal late as we had so much scratch building going on in that time frame. That and I hung out with the PSS crowd. We were a backwards bunch of hillbillies having fun. LOL

The first few molded sailplanes I saw were at the 1981 F3B WC in Sacramento if memory serves me right--though I may have seen the first the year prior in France...darn memory!

The first I saw was Ralf Decker's molded version of his Optima design from the 1979 WC. I had seen the version with wood wings the year before and they were also beautiful. But, his molded wings shined and looked factory-made. It looked simply AMAZING compared to anything I had seen to date. I imagine the Dassel's quality and finish was similar--or so friends told me. I couldn't find a photo of it unfortunately.

The second model was the Sparticus. It was a molded beast of a sailplane with a 3.5 meter wingspan and an E205 airfoil. It had influence from the AME group as well and was flow by the Swiss team in the WC. Almost as unique for its enormous wingspan as the Dassel was in its diminutive stature. It didn't add weight for speed but changed the CG in flight using a moving mass inside the fuselage. It also used a split fin airbrake. Hint: It didn't slow it down enough! That said, I simply loved all the innovation trials that were going on back then.

The third, also at the 1981 F3B WC, was quite simply called FMF. And, yes, it means EXACTLY what you think! It was a father & son team out of Washington who ended up flying...with the Canadians?!? All Kevlar and an E193 airfoil if memory serves me right. The sailplane was advanced for its day. But, that wasn't what made their contribution unique. Their winch was UNBELIEVABLY strong: The plane reached around 100 mph on the winch zoomed to (back then) unimaginable heights. The winch rules were changed the following year after two wings came off during launch! In the second photo, it's the T-tail sailplane in the upper left. The main photo is of the winner, Dwight Holly.

 

[Red]

Yes! That rings a bell. It was a Multiplex kit called Karo As (Ace of Diamonds). I flew one of those once, too. The same (very lucky) friend managed to acquire one. It had about the same level of quality as the first molded plane I flew but don't remember it flying as well. The links I found said it had an Eppler 180 and that sounds right. Maybe 1.8 meter span? The German site, rc-network.de, has a more info on old kits that never really made it easily to the US. Check to see if the following couple of photos ring are what you remember.

I also found a photo of the first molded sailplane I flew although I am almost sure the one I flew had flaps. I thought it might have been called "Whisper" and it was. It did indeed have an E182. Apparently it was made by an Austrian named Karl Masopust. I found a couple of pix. I also found mention that he offered an E193 version similar to the Dassel back in the day. There were a lot of really cool sailplane offerings coming out of Europe in the late '70s and early '80s that never made it to our shores. A pity.

Wow that's it! So cool...you are the first person besides the people I used to fly with who remember it. Guess I need to find one now lol. EDIT: Interesting, I had no idea it was associated with Werner Sitar and the Pfeil, no wonder I liked it so much haha https://www.zhype.com/224206_Multiplex_Karo_As.php

The other one I'd love to find from my youth would be the ModelHOB Dardo.

 

[OribaSJ88]

Wow that's it! So cool...you are the first person besides the people I used to fly with who remember it. Guess I need to find one now lol.

The other one I'd love to find from my youth would be the ModelHOB Dardo.

Cool! I hope you can find a Karo As. On the German site, there were a number of mentions of people looking for them but they definitely weren't easy to find. I'm in a bit of a nostalgia mood these days I guess.

I didn't know the Dardo (Dart) but found a photo. It looks to have been influenced by the whole Dassel craze of the late '70s--as many, many designs were.

On my bucket list is a Dassel with a molded wing and, equally important, an airbrake canopy! Webershock Development out of Germany makes a very good copy but my attempts to acquire one went nowhere. I imagine shipping to the States is a hassle if one doesn't do it often. I have even seen that real, honest to goodness Dassels, built by the AME team, have exchanged hands in the last few years. That would truly be a bucket list acquisition! All that said, an Eppler 193 in 2025?!? It truly would be for nostalgic value.

​

 

[Doc J]

Doc, I've seen it. It was an interesting offering back in the day. If they offered it with a molded wing, I'd probably be more interested. I'm not sure what I'd think about a model with an Eppler 193 in 2025. Quabeck and RG airfoils showed up in the early '80s and I'm not sure the sailplane world ever looked back.

Friends told me back when I was living abroad that many copied the form of the Dassel (Multiplex Flamingo, Sitar Special and a plethora of personal designs), but none captured the precision of their design, their molded tech along with the teamwork that they demonstrated at competitions. I was very grateful to a Belgian friend took me under his wing and taught me vacuum bagging and how to make a molded fuselage. But, I never made a wing mold. I'm sure I don't have to tell you how rare a molded wing was back in the early '80s

Did you go to any of the international F3B competitions back in the early years of F3B in Europe? There were (are still?) several scattered across Europe every year. They were amazing affairs, well, at least to the teenager I was back then. They were almost like mini World Championships. Competitors came from all over the EU and there were almost as many different designs as nationalities. Good times...

Ollie

Hey Ollie - yes, I did go to a few of the competitions, not to compete but to watch in awe.

It was a time of great innovation. Did you remember the CO flying wing team? They dominated for a couple of years, too.

At that time, I was making my first moulded fuselages, and I'd been doing vacuum-banned wings for a couple of years.

We had a small team in the UK, consisting of myself, Chris Greengrass, David Woods, Jim Hathaway, and Mark Passigham - the same individuals who came to the ISR in the USA in 1886, who were quite proficient in model design and construction. We never did F3b, but we did a heck of a lot of MOM slope racing.

Ahhh, back in the day...

Doc.

 

[Doc J]

Interesting to see Sailplane International popping back up. That is neat to see.

I debated posting the following.. I don't like attacking someone's work, but this just seems really poor.

Comparing the new Osprey with the classic version is interesting. I'd be willing to bet you could snap that outer wing panel off in flight once the flutter starts up, and would think the flutter will start pretty soon after putting the nose down. I'm assuming this is mostly balsa ribs.. Yikes.
View attachment 23152

Compare that to the original:
View attachment 23153
Drastically different models. He didn't even keep the pretty tail structure. And he added ailerons? Uggh, I assume he did not fly it before putting it up on the site as those are going to work like poop.

Only an Osprey in shape.

Wayne - back in the day, Sailplanes International were noted - in the UK at least, for two things:

1. Offering nicely designed models, for the time, that were poorly made. Worse than the cheapest Chinese offerings now.
2. Tony Baker, SI proprietor, bringing nice-looking model girls to the slopes. We all looked forward to him showing up - but not for his planes!

Like you, I have severe reservations about that new Osprey design, and so would any model designer.

Doc.

 

[jure]

...We had a small team in the UK, consisting of myself, Chris Greengrass, David Woods, Jim Hathaway, and Mark Passigham - the same individuals who came to the ISR in the USA in 1886, who were quite proficient in model design and construction. ...
Ahhh, back in the day...

Doc.

OMG ! , G. Marconi was 12 years old then, I wonder what radio were you using ...

 

[Doc J]

Cool! I hope you can find a Karo As. On the German site, there were a number of mentions of people looking for them but they definitely weren't easy to find. I'm in a bit of a nostalgia mood these days I guess.

I didn't know the Dardo (Dart) but found a photo. It looks to have been influenced by the whole Dassel craze of the late '70s--as many, many designs were.

On my bucket list is a Dassel with a molded wing and, equally important, an airbrake canopy! Webershock Development out of Germany makes a very good copy but my attempts to acquire one went nowhere. I imagine shipping to the States is a hassle if one doesn't do it often. I have even seen that real, honest to goodness Dassels, built by the AME team, have exchanged hands in the last few years. That would truly be a bucket list acquisition! All that said, an Eppler 193 in 2025?!? It truly would be for nostalgic value.

​

Hey Ollie, I don't think you are going to cross that one off your bucket list unless you can somehow get a "barn find" hidden away in a German attic.

Having said that, I hope you DO get lucky and you DO find one.

I have often thought of making a moulded one, but it wouldn't be popular - it probably falls into the nostalgia category rather than the "let's get one and fly the s(*&t out of it" genre.

I wouldn't knock the E193 too much, it's still a good all-around section if you look at the polars. But those wings...

Oh boy, the memories flood back...

Getting my lovely vac bagged blue foam, 1/64 ply, glass alaminate wings into the bag, all straight and ready to go...switching on the vacuum, only to see the vacuum pump - an old fridge unit - rapidly overheat and erupt in clouds of really nasty-smelling smoke and shudder to a stop...
Then F1 style type screeching driving around to a friend's house with a hastily grabbed tool bag. Wrestling another pump out of a fridge he had in his backyard...hurtling back to my shed and connecting the new (very old!) pump, and then joy of joys turning out a super bagged wing set the next day.

Boys will be boys!

Doc.

 

[Doc J]

OMG ! , G. Marconi was 12 years old then, I wonder what radio were you using ...

I don't remember, Jure, but I do recall that the instructions were in Latin.

Doc.

 

[jure]

Doc,
you brought interesting memories relating the story of the refrigerator's compressor used as a vacuum pump.

In my early years at the University, I made a "vacuostat", for a controls course project .
Used the refrigerator's unit , a vacuum tank , and for closed loop feedback : a Bourdon tube with an LVDT Transformer (which I wound myself) , as a sensor .
It also featured a solenoid valve to connect at will the tank to the vacuum system "load".
was that fun !

PS: The "vacuostat" was needed because in my first attempt, I made a tank implode on itself !

 

[OribaSJ88]

Hey Ollie, I don't think you are going to cross that one off your bucket list unless you can somehow get a "barn find" hidden away in a German attic.

Having said that, I hope you DO get lucky and you DO find one.

I have often thought of making a moulded one, but it wouldn't be popular - it probably falls into the nostalgia category rather than the "let's get one and fly the s(*&t out of it" genre.

I wouldn't knock the E193 too much, it's still a good all-around section if you look at the polars. But those wings...

Oh boy, the memories flood back...

Getting my lovely vac bagged blue foam, 1/64 ply, glass alaminate wings into the bag, all straight and ready to go...switching on the vacuum, only to see the vacuum pump - an old fridge unit - rapidly overheat and erupt in clouds of really nasty-smelling smoke and shudder to a stop...
Then F1 style type screeching driving around to a friend's house with a hastily grabbed tool bag. Wrestling another pump out of a fridge he had in his backyard...hurtling back to my shed and connecting the new (very old!) pump, and then joy of joys turning out a super bagged wing set the next day.

Boys will be boys!

Doc.

Hi there Doc,

No, I never saw the CO flying wing team. What years were they active? I was in Belgium from mid-1979 through mid-1980. There was an Italian design that had a swept wing and basically no fuselage forward of the wing. It looked very futuristic but, like so many designs of the day, didn't catch on.

Did you ever get the job of towing a sailplane into the air (i.e., trying to sprint with a tow line in hand)? Winches were allowed but were just catching on where I was. If there was no wind, that was a tough job because flaps weren't common. Need to relaunch? Line break? Oof! Sprint back and try to set up again before your working time ends. And, hopefully you weren't flying in the next round

I doubt I'll ever find an original Dassel. I don't speak German and don't have any connections over there. Here's a photo of the Weberschock version. It looks pretty darn close although it has servos in the wings and doesn't include the signature airbrake canopy out of the box. It would be a suitable stand-in for the original if I can get one. I'm often in Europe. Perhaps if I made a trip to pick one up from Weberschock? We'll see. But, you're probably right about there not being a huge market for a copy of the Dassel today, let alone two versions. The Pfeil is intriguing, too, but likely only as a part of nostalgia. The E182 had very unique flying characteristics on the slope and was a blast to fly.

I'm surprised there are two of us here that still remember the Dassel . How can you dislike those wings? They were part of the signature appeal back then . The other signature feature was the pointed nose--which was apparently used of "lawn darting" into the snow for landings in winter. (The pointy nose got outlawed and for good reason). I'm going to guess you know why the wing was rectangular: They made one mold with two wing tips! I can only imagine how hard that first mold must have been to make some 50 years ago. One of the French RC Magazines indicated that the original design originated in the early '70s. Wow!

Those are my memories of vacuum bagging as well. My dad helped me make a pump with an old compressor from a refrigerator and a vacuum switch. It had a horrible smell of oil and made a racket when it pulled a vacuum. If a leak developed in the bag, I would come back to a room full of oily smoke. Ugh! But, the part I loved the most was pulling the mylar off a recently bagged wing and seeing the shiny surface. Compared to other methods of construction back then, it gave a great product for a modest amount of work.

Ollie

 

[OribaSJ88]

Wow that's it! So cool...you are the first person besides the people I used to fly with who remember it. Guess I need to find one now lol. EDIT: Interesting, I had no idea it was associated with Werner Sitar and the Pfeil, no wonder I liked it so much haha https://www.zhype.com/224206_Multiplex_Karo_As.php

The other one I'd love to find from my youth would be the ModelHOB Dardo.

Red, that's cool! You found some more info on the Karo As. It looks like 3700 of the sailplane were made. I'm pretty sure they were distributed in the USA. There's sure to be someone somewhere with one gathering dust in their workshop that you can snag. The hard part is finding the someone! However, comparing the Karo As to the Pfeil and saying that they are related and inspired by Werner Sitar?? Hmmm ...a lot of people said that back then!

I had never stumbled across zhype.com. The guy REALLY likes Multiplex products! He has write-ups on the Flamingo, the Alpina among others. These were enormously popular back then. I tried to build a Flamingo with built-up wings when I was in Belgium. So much work for a mediocre end product! I quickly remembered how much better vacuum bagging over foam cores was for wings!