Mystery Scoop Identified - Cirrus Design VK-30 Homebuilt

The full pic of the Cirrus VK-30 homebuilt from the Name The Plane game on 2.12.11

(3 pix)

 I was really hoping the Name The Plane game on 2.12.11 would last about 24 hours. Instead, it went just 15 minutes when the correct answer of Cirrus VK-30 was put in the comments area by 'Rob' who wins a bacon sandwich at an AirPigz bacon party at Oshkosh 2011. There's no doubt I'm gonna be cooking a lot of bacon this year!

 I really didn't expect a correct answer so quickly. It's hard to know how many people are aware these days of what the VK-30 is. Only a handful of the 4-5 place homebuilt pushers have been completed since it first became available as a kit back in the late 1980's. I remember seeing the prototype at Oshkosh in 1988 and even have some old VHS video of it in the air and taxiing on the ground that I'll eventually get posted. I found the airplane very interesting because it looked so much like the airplanes I had drawn in my notebooks in high school when I was supposed to be paying attention to the teachers!

Front view of the homebuilt VK-30 (N52TH) at Oshkosh 2010 (Melmoth 2 in background)

 While the airplane didn't become a commercial success, it certainly paved the way for for brothers Alan and Dale Klapmeier to gain the skills and confidence to bring the Cirrus SR20 to the market as a fully certified aircraft. The combination of great performance with design and comfort details previously not seen in factory built aircraft, the SR20 has been the one bright spots in general aviation in the last 10 years.

The large, roomy and innovative VK-30 homebuilt

 The VK-30 homebuilt kit aircraft was designed to be pretty much everything that a typical aircraft from Cessna or Piper wasn't. Roomy, comfortable, effecient and innovative were some of the goals that were well achieved with the design. But the large size also meant there was a lot of expense and a lot of work for the builder to get this airplane in the air. This particular aircraft (N52TH) is a really beautiful example from California, and it was really neat to see on the flightline at Oshkosh 2010. It's also cool to see that Prescott Pusher in the background in the pic above to add a little more nostalgic pusher fun to the pic!

Comments

[Glen Tallarek]

Unfortunate end to a nice airplane and some precious lives:
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-5378909/Officials-4-killed-Southern-California-small-plane-crash.html