About Us
Jet Tech, LLC is manufacturing company specializing in Kevlar Fuel Cells primarily for the turbine powered model community world wide. Jet Tech, LLC supplies tanks to private individuals as well as model companies, defense contractors, universities, aerospace corporations and friendly governments throughout North and South America, Eurozone, Asia and Eastern block nations. Custom applications and rapid prototyping are two strong advantages that bring projects to Jet Tech, LLC. Designs can be sent via internet and transformed to working prototypes and then production status in as little as 4-6 weeks after a successful design is submitted.
Gary Mueller is the driving force behind Jet Tech, LLC. He has been designing, building and flying model aircraft since 1961 beginning with rubber band powered models and then onto control line .049 aircraft. Ever since he saw his first fighter jet fly in real life, it was his dream to have a model jet that would be remotely piloted. With the advent of Ducted Fan jets in the mid 80's a scale looking jet could be flown R/C. He attended the first annual Byron Originals Jet Fly In in Ida Grove Iowa and began designing and flying R/C ducted fan aircraft. His first ducted fan the F-20 Tigershark flew at Ida Grove the following year and the design was purchased and produced by St. Croix models, with Jet Tech doing all the fiberglass components. St. Croix went on to produce the Saab Viggen, F-100, F-5, F-18 all designed by Mueller.
In early 1998 Jeff Seymour began producing his SWB turbine, the first commercially available USA made turbine. Mueller teamed up with Seymour and designed Jet Tech's 1/6 scale F-16 specifically around the 35 pound thrust SWB turbine. NASA bought the first three production F-16's. Some years later came the twin RAM 1000 powered 1/8 scale F-15 was made into a kit and sold through RAM Jets.
In the early years of turbine powered model aircraft, plastic plasma intravenous bags were used for fuel. Gary saw that this was a very dangerous fuel system that had catastrophic results. Flame-outs due to air bubbles on the bag surface, leaks and worst of all fires were common place in the beginning. Jet Tech's first set of Kevlar fuel tanks were in his F-16 that was flown at Florida Jets in 1998. A few modelers seeing the Kevlar tanks asked, could he make a set of tanks for their jets? The second jet to get a Jet Tech Kevlar tank was the Air Magic F-15 a very popular high performance jet at the time. And so an industry was born.
Gary has 4 grown children who have at various ages become proficient in the manufacturing of Kevlar fuel tanks. A son and a daughter are commercial pilots and a third daughter is a "rampy" at PDX (Portland, OR.). He continues to fly full size aircraft whenever there is spare time. Currently he flies a 1946 Cessna 120 tail dragger. In the summer it is tied up at his lake front home on floats in Northern Wisconsin and in the winter it is on skis enjoying the same lakes as summer but on the ice and snow.