About the Author

One of the models I built with paper when I was a child.

My name is Oscar Gagliardi, Jr., I was born in Lima, Perú. I currently live in Maryland, USA. I have a passion for aviation, airplanes, and the hobby of building scale model airplanes.

I still remember the day my father gave me my first model airplane to build. I was about 9, I made a big mess with the glue, the airplane didn’t look that bad after I finish building it. That airplane experienced a lot of combat time along with my toy soldiers, tanks, and combat cars. Later on, I learned, after spending more time building plastic model airplanes, that it was better to put them on display. I dedicated a bookshelf to display my models. I added a paper sign next to each airplane, indicating the name, the scale, and a brief description of the airplane. Building plastic model airplanes is a hobby that makes your imagination fly, it allows you to express your creativity and relaxes you.

I have also built paper and cardboard airplanes and rockets. Two of my models are displayed in the Institute of Historical Studies of Peru. One of the models is the Space Shuttle Columbia made of cardboard and paper and the other one is the first model ever built of the “Torpedo Plane” (Avión Torpedo) designed by rocket scientist Pedro Paulet Mostajo. I obtained copies of the original diagrams from his daughter.

A few years ago I built a homemade flight simulator system. Currently, the simulator is driven by 4 computer systems and is equipped with 12 monitors. Five of these monitors display the external view, three of them display the glass cockpit instrumentation, two of them display the GPS for the pilot and co-pilot and the last two are used outside the cockpit to monitor the flight as a training station. The simulator is equipped with pedals, control yokes, keyboards, vibration chairs, surround sound, automatic pilot panel, throttle controls, radio panels, etc. I spent a lot of time flying it with my dad. You can visit here the blog I maintained about this project.

I have published aviation-related articles, websites, and CD-ROMs. Here is a list of these websites I developed:

  • The Aeronautic Museum of Perú – In Spanish

  • Pedro Paulet Mostajo – Rocket Pioneer – In Spanish

  • Centenary of Jorge Chavez’s Heroic Feat – Aviation Pioneer – In English, Spanish, Italian and French

  • Alas de Gloria (Wings of Glory) – In Spanish

  • Arriba Siempre Arriba, Aviation Portal – In Spanish

My homemade flight simulator.