The Glorious Aircraft Building Journey Of Alan and Dale Klapmeier

Every one of us has dreams. Very few have the persistence required to make them realities. Most of us give up if we are faced with problems or someone points out to us how divorced from reality our dreams are. The world would not have airplanes if the Wright brothers had not tried to translate their dreams of flying into a reality!

The story of Dale and Alan Klapmeier is a saga of dreams that became realities. What began as an indulgence in a fancy became the mainstay of their lives!

The Brothers Were Fascinates By Ultralight Airplanes

The brothers were fascinated by airplanes as children. They loved to play with toy versions of planes and dreamed of building a plane themselves. Alan Klapmeier is often heard to say “You have to be dumb enough to start and smart enough to finish”. They plunged into airplane design naively with a Glasair kit aircraft in early 1980’s and stayed on despite difficulties to build and market the VK-30 in 1984 and found ‘Cirrus’--the company that manufactures the plane. Today the airplane designed and manufactured by them is FAA certified, composite, four place, single engine piston and turbo powered aircraft.

The Beginning

The first thoughts of building a real ultralight aircraft entered the minds of the brothers when Alan turned 15. The December 1973 issue of Flying Magazine showed a piper warrior on the cover and he was to give a speech at school on aviation. Inspired by the article and another on Skyhawk the Grumman Traveler and his own fascination with building and modeling toy planes, prompted him to excitedly approach his dad with a spontaneous “ Let’s build an airplane!” only to be greeted by a laughing rejoinder “My kids are all insane!”

Re-building their first airplane

However, the thoughts took root and grew and they brought their first wrecked 7 GC airplane in 1979 with an intention of rebuilding it. They began work with an optimistic idea of completing the rebuilding in four months and ended up working on it for two and a half years! However, the learning was great and the brothers gained confidence in their ability to build airplanes.

Building their ultralight airplane from scratch

In 1980 they decided to further their understanding by building a plane from the scratch. They brought a Glasair kit form Stoddard-Hamilton and began work on it in 1981. The aircraft was a two place, side-by-side composite taildragger. They began putting it together in the garage and finished the job in the farm’s barn. They flew their first home built airplane in the Spring of 1984.

In that year they began the design of VK-30. The rest is history. The journey from the barn to the hangar and the hangar to owning a manufacturing company was a hard one. It was their dreams and their determination to realize their dreams which led them on to the success they enjoy today. It is a story of hardship willingly borne and a commitment unwaveringly pursued.

You too, could be a Dale or Alan Klapmeier! The first ultralight aircract you can build with a kit or plans could be the learning ground for bigger things to come. So why dismiss dreams as mere castles in the air. Begin by laying strong foundations. Build your first aircraft with the grit an determination of an Alan or a Dale.

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