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[10kDA]

I realize now that many, many years ago I had spoken to Bill Sadler at an air show where he was displaying his Vampire ultralight. I was aware of the Sadler cars but I did not make the connection until now. The topic of racing and racing cars never came up. RIP Bill, a creative and highly skilled individual.

[ReWind]

Bill Sadler's obituary (St. Catharines Standard, 15 April 2022):

 

Born September 3, 1931, in St. Catharines, Ontario, Canada, passed peacefully in Cathedral City, California, on April 5, 2022, in his 91st year.
Bill was a world class race car designer and driver, a graduate of MIT, and a lifelong member of Mensa. Bill started out building race cars in his parents' shop, Sadler's Automotive, in St. Catharines, Ontario, and raced circuits all over the USA and England, winning the Watkins Glen Classic and leaving several surprised front runners in his dust throughout his racing career. He was a prolific builder and passionate about his car designs. He has been inducted into the Watkins Glen Walk of Fame, the St. Catharines Sports Hall of Fame, and the Canadian Motorsport Hall of Fame.

Upon becoming disillusioned with racing, Sadler directed his attention to aircraft, becoming one of the first inventors of the ultralight airplane with his Sadler Vampire, which landed him with an article in the January 1984 issue of Popular Mechanics. Sadler has had a multi-faceted career, which included owning and operating Sadler Aircraft, designing LED clocks for aircraft, inventing one of the first ground radar systems during his time with General Dynamics, and spending some time rebuilding electrical grids with FEMA in Los Angeles after the Northridge earthquake in 1994.
Bill is survived by his first wife, Anne (Stewart), whom he recently remarried in 2016 (Indio, California); his ex-wife, Linda B. Sadler (Florence, Oregon), and three daughters, Sue Stewart-Greene (Hamilton, Ont.), Cate Noakes (Vancouver Island), and Vicki Sadler Jesse (Indio, California). He was also previously married to Caryl Sadler (nee Dingledine) of Burlington, Ont. (deceased), and leaves grandchildren Caleb (Duckers), Jordan (Duckers), Jesse (Greene), Evan (Jesse), Aaron (Jesse), and Leah (Jesse).
Cremation has taken place and interment of ashes will be in Victoria Lawn Cemetery in St. Catharines at a later date.