High Flier Hazel Sig-Hester: Iowa Time Machine October 10, 2025

Iowa Time Machine ⏰: On October 10, 2025, Hazel Sig-Hester passed away at the age of 103. For Sig-Hester, flight began with the pleasure of making something fly, whether it was a balsa-wood model or an airplane she piloted herself.

Born in Grinnell on March 3, 1922, Hazel grew up with an enthusiasm for machinery, motorcycles, and model airplanes. She was working as a dental assistant when she met Glen “Poncho” Sigafoose in 1942, and they married the following year. He operated a Linotype machine at the Montezuma Republican, and they also ran an Indian Motorcycle dealership together. Their entry into the model-airplane business grew out of a practical frustration: they enjoyed building models but struggled to get precut balsa. By selling that material through the founding of Sig Manufacturing, they joined a community of hobbyists who wanted to build their own aircraft.

Hazel Sig-Hester also wasn’t content to just let the model airplanes take to the skies. Hazel learned to fly in 1958 and became an aerobatic performer, appearing in air shows with Sigafoose and their fellow model builder Maxey Hester. Sigafoose’s death during a performance in Centerville, Iowa, in 1980 brought a painful change. Hazel stopped performing in air shows, but she continued flying and operating the model-airplane business with Hester, whom she married in 1981.

Hazel’s influence continues through the model-building community and the educational opportunities she helped support. The Academy of Model Aeronautics recognized her as a member of its Model Aviation Hall of Fame and credited the Sig family with advancing young aviation enthusiasts through the Glen Sig Memorial Scholarship Fund. In honor of her hundredth birthday, the organization designated June 25, 2022, National Hazel Sig Admiration Day. That same year, the National Aeronautic Association named her a recipient of its Wesley L. McDonald Distinguished Statesman and Stateswoman of Aviation Award, recognizing both the company’s contributions to model aviation and her support for education. #Iowa #OTD #History #Flight #ModelPlanes