Larry (Lawrence) Matanski 1987

Larry Matanski was born in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada, in 1929. In the nineteen fifties and sixties Larry was involved in the cinema business. He filmed, directed, edited and produced short documentaries and movies. He worked with well-known and less well-known actors, including Garry Cooper. Larry had several positions in the aviation world, like designing floats for Tritan. He also owned and flew several planes for pleasure, including a Piaggio P.136 Gull. However, he would become well-known by designing and building aircraft. The first aircraft was the Dominion Skytrader 800 (N800ST), a twin-engined transport and utility aircraft with high STOL (short take off and landing) capabilities. The prototype flew successfully in 1975, but despite a long financial battle and 48 orders the aircraft failed to reach series production. The second aircraft was a high-performance turboprop powered amphibian. Flown October 1983, the Airmaster Avalon 680 also failed to reach series production. Although he had many more ideas and designed several other types, none were to be flown. Larry died 1996 during recovery of heart surgery.