The Cirrus VK-30 is a single-engine
pusher-propeller homebuilt aircraft
Homebuilt aircraft, also known as amateur-built aircraft or kit planes, are constructed by persons for whom this is not a professional activity. These aircraft may be constructed from "scratch", from plans, or from assembly kits.Armstrong, Kenn ...
originally sold as a kit by
Cirrus Design
The Cirrus Design Corporation, doing business as Cirrus Aircraft (formally Cirrus Design), is an aircraft manufacturer that was founded in 1984 by Alan and Dale Klapmeier to produce the VK-30 kit aircraft. The company is owned by a subsidiar ...
(now called Cirrus Aircraft), and was the company's first model, introduced in 1987.
As a kit aircraft, the VK-30 is a relatively obscure design with few completed aircraft flying. Its most important legacy is that the work done on developing and marketing the aircraft convinced the designers, the
Klapmeier brothers
The Klapmeier brothers, Alan Lee Klapmeier (born October 6, 1958) and Dale Edward Klapmeier (born July 2, 1961), are retired American aircraft designers and aviation entrepreneurs who together founded the Cirrus Aircraft, Cirrus Design Corporati ...
, that the best way to proceed in the future was with a more conventional layout and with a certified production aircraft. Thus the lessons of the VK-30 were directly responsible for the design of the
Cirrus SR20
The Cirrus SR20 is an American piston-engined, four- or five-seat composite monoplane built since 1999 by Cirrus Aircraft of Duluth, Minnesota. The aircraft is the company's earliest type-certified model, earning certification in 1998.
It was t ...
and
SR22, which have been the best-selling
general aviation
General aviation (GA) is defined by the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) as all civil aviation aircraft operations with the exception of commercial air transport or aerial work, which is defined as specialized aviation services ...
airplanes in the world every year since 2003.
The VK-30 also served as a significant inspiration for the creation of the company's latest aircraft, the
Cirrus Vision Jet,
which in 2018 won the
Collier Trophy for becoming the first single-engine
personal jet with a whole-plane
parachute recovery system.
Design and development
The VK-30 design was conceived in the early 1980s as a kit plane project by three college students, Alan Klapmeier and Jeff Viken from
Ripon College in Wisconsin, and Alan's brother, Dale Klapmeier, who was attending the
University of Wisconsin–Stevens Point
The University of Wisconsin–Stevens Point (UW–Stevens Point or UWSP) is a public university in Stevens Point, Wisconsin. It is part of the University of Wisconsin System and grants associate, baccalaureate, and master's degrees, as well a ...
. Jeff Viken's wife, Sally, designed the VK-30's flap system. Together, in the Klapmeiers' parents' barn in rural
Sauk County, Wisconsin
Sauk County is a county in Wisconsin. It is named after a large village of the Sauk people. As of the 2020 census, the population was 65,763. Its county seat and largest city is Baraboo. The county was created in 1840 from Wisconsin Territory ...
,
they formed Cirrus Design as the company to produce the VK-30 (VK standing for Viken-Klapmeier).
The aircraft has an all-
composite
Composite or compositing may refer to:
Materials
* Composite material, a material that is made from several different substances
** Metal matrix composite, composed of metal and other parts
** Cermet, a composite of ceramic and metallic materials
...
construction and was designed to achieve natural laminar flow over the
fuselage
The fuselage (; from the French ''fuselé'' "spindle-shaped") is an aircraft's main body section. It holds crew, passengers, or cargo. In single-engine aircraft, it will usually contain an engine as well, although in some amphibious aircraf ...
as well as the wing and tail surfaces to provide for very low drag—using a NASA NLF(1)-0414F
airfoil. The prototype incorporated some parts from production aircraft, including the nose gear from a
Piper Cherokee
The Piper PA-28 Cherokee is a family of two-seat or four-seat light aircraft built by Piper Aircraft and designed for flight training, air taxi and personal use.Plane and Pilot: ''1978 Aircraft Directory'', pages 62–64. Werner & Werner Corp, ...
and the main landing gear from a
Lake LA-4. The VK-30 was designed to be a five-seat aircraft from the start, which made it considerably larger than most other amateur-built aircraft of its day. It incorporated a mid-engine design, driving a three-bladed pusher propeller behind the tail through an extension shaft. The powerplant was a
Continental IO-550-G piston engine developing .
The VK-30 was introduced at the 1987
EAA AirVenture Oshkosh
EAA AirVenture Oshkosh (formerly the EAA Annual Convention and Fly-In), or just Oshkosh, is an annual air show and gathering of aviation enthusiasts held each summer at Wittman Regional Airport and adjacent Pioneer Airport in Oshkosh, Wisconsi ...
convention in
Oshkosh, Wisconsin and first flew on 11 February 1988. Kit deliveries commenced shortly thereafter.
In the late 1980s, the Klapmeier brothers approached
jet engine manufacturer
Williams International
Williams International is an American manufacturer of small gas turbine engines based in Pontiac, Michigan, United States. It produces jet engines for cruise missiles and small jet aircraft.
History
Dr. Sam B. Williams worked at Chrysler on t ...
about the possibility of installing a small, single
Williams FJ44
The Williams FJ44 is a family of small, two-spool, turbofan engines produced by Williams International for the light business jet market. Until the recent boom in the very light jet market, the FJ44 was one of the smallest turbofans available ...
turbofan
The turbofan or fanjet is a type of airbreathing jet engine that is widely used in aircraft propulsion. The word "turbofan" is a portmanteau of "turbine" and "fan": the ''turbo'' portion refers to a gas turbine engine which achieves mechanic ...
engine on the VK-30. The idea never materialized at that time, however, it significantly inspired the original design concept of the
Vision Jet
The Cirrus Vision SF50, also known as the Vision Jet, is a single-engine very light jet designed and produced by Cirrus Aircraft of Duluth, Minnesota, United States.
After receiving deposits starting in 2006, Cirrus unveiled an aircraft mock- ...
in the mid-2000s.
[
Cirrus discontinued production of the VK-30 towards the end of 1993.]
In 1996 the company announced plans to develop a stronger replacement wing for about 28 VK30s supplied to past customers.[
]
Operational history
Cirrus delivered about 40 kits, and built four additional factory prototypes.[ The company estimated that there were 13 customer VK-30s completed. As of 11 February 2018, four were still registered with the ]Federal Aviation Administration
The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) is the largest transportation agency of the U.S. government and regulates all aspects of civil aviation in the country as well as over surrounding international waters. Its powers include air traffic ...
in the US, although at one time a total of 12 had been registered.
Variants
;Cirrus/Israviation ST50
The VK-30 was the predecessor of the Cirrus ST50, which had an almost-identical configuration to the VK-30, but included a larger ventral fin
Pelvic fins or ventral fins are paired fins located on the ventral surface of fish. The paired pelvic fins are homologous to the hindlimbs of tetrapods.
Structure and function Structure
In actinopterygians, the pelvic fin consists of two ...
on the tail of the aircraft, a slightly larger fuselage, and was powered by a Pratt & Whitney Canada PT6-135 turboprop engine in place of the piston engine used in the VK-30. Cirrus designed and initially developed the aircraft under contract to an Israeli aircraft manufacturer named Israviation, and first flew it in Duluth, Minnesota
, settlement_type = City
, nicknames = Twin Ports (with Superior), Zenith City
, motto =
, image_skyline =
, image_caption = Clockwise from top: urban Duluth skyline; Minnesota ...
in 1994. Isravation attempted to certify and market the ST50 in the proceeding years but it never entered production by the company.[Aerofiles: Aircraft Ca to Ci]
Retrieved 24 July 2011
Accidents
Between 1990 and 2020, seven US-registered VK-30s crashed, with a total of ten fatalities.
On 22 March 1996, retired astronaut Robert F. Overmyer
Colonel Robert Franklyn "Bob" Overmyer (July 14, 1936 – March 22, 1996) was an American test pilot, naval aviator, aeronautical engineer, physicist, United States Marine Corps, United States Marine Corps officer, and United States Air Force, US ...
died at age 59 in the crash of an Allison turbine-powered VK-30. He was testing the aircraft for stall recovery characteristics at aft center of gravity limits when the aircraft departed controlled flight.
Aircraft on display
* Air Zoo, Portage, Michigan
Portage is a city in Kalamazoo County in the U.S. state of Michigan. The population was 46,292 in the 2010 census. It is the smaller of the two main cities included in the Kalamazoo-Portage Metropolitan Statistical Area, which has a populati ...
*EAA AirVenture Museum
The EAA Aviation Museum, formerly the EAA AirVenture Museum (or Air Adventure Museum), is a museum dedicated to the preservation and display of historic and experimental aircraft as well as antiques, classics, and warbirds. The museum is lo ...
, Oshkosh, Wisconsin
* Florida Air Museum, Lakeland, Florida
Lakeland is the most populous city in Polk County, Florida, part of the Tampa Bay Area, located along Interstate 4 east of Tampa. According to the 2020 U.S. Census Bureau release, the city had a population of 112,641. Lakeland is a principal ci ...
Specifications (VK-30)
See also
References
External links
"Fast Fourward"
- 1990 '' AOPA Pilot'' article on the Cirrus VK30 and Klapmeier brothers
{{Aviation in Wisconsin
VK-30
1980s United States civil utility aircraft
Single-engined pusher aircraft
Mid-engined aircraft
Low-wing aircraft
Homebuilt aircraft
Aircraft first flown in 1988