Klapmeier brothers

The Klapmeier brothers
Dale (left) and Alan Klapmeier speaking at EAA AirVenture Oshkosh in 2008
Occupation(s)Aviation entrepreneurs, aircraft designers
Years active1979–2009 (as duo)
Known forCirrus Aircraft founders, Cirrus SR20 and SR22, Cirrus Airframe Parachute System, Cirrus Vision SF50, pioneers of composite-airframes and glass cockpits for light aircraft
Parent(s)Larry and Carol Klapmeier
AwardsSee below
Alan Klapmeier
Born (1958-10-06) October 6, 1958 (age 65)
Saint Paul, Minnesota, US
Alma materWisconsin Ripon College
Years active2010–2021 (as head of Kestrel)
Spouse(s)Patti Graves (divorced)
Sara Dougherty
Children2
Board member ofEAA, MVP.aero (current)
GAMA, Small Aircraft Manufacturers Association (SAMA), AERObridge, AOPA's Air Safety Foundation (former)
Dale Klapmeier
Born (1961-07-02) July 2, 1961 (age 63)
Rockford, Illinois, US
Alma materUniversity of Wisconsin–Stevens Point
Years active2009–2019 (as head of Cirrus)
Spouse(s)Patricia Meyer
Children2
Board member ofAKIA, AirSpace Minnesota (current)
EAA's Young Eagles Program, Red Tail Squadron, NASA's Research & Technology Roundtable, Scott D. Anderson Leadership Foundation (former)

The Klapmeier brothers, Alan Lee Klapmeier (born October 6, 1958)[1] and Dale Edward Klapmeier (born July 2, 1961),[1] are retired American aircraft designers and aviation entrepreneurs who together founded the Cirrus Design Corporation in 1984. Under the leadership of the Klapmeiers, Cirrus was the first aircraft manufacturer to install a whole-plane parachute recovery system as a standard on all its models—designed to lower the airplane (and occupants) safely to the ground in case of an emergency.[2][3] The device is attributed with saving over 200 lives to date.[4] From the brothers' use of all-composite airframe construction and glass panel cockpits on production aircraft, Cirrus is known for having revolutionized general aviation for modern light aircraft pilots.[5][6][7][8][9]

Forbes magazine named Cirrus's highly popular single-engine SR-series (the SR20 and SR22, certified in 1998 and 2000 respectively) Best Private Airplane, saying "the Klapmeier brothers built the first genuinely new plane in the sky in many years",[10] Time magazine regarded them as "giving lift to the small-plane industry with an easy-to-fly design",[11] and Flying magazine ranked Alan and Dale at number 17 on its list of the 51 Heroes of Aviation; they are the two highest-ranked living people on the list.[7] The Klapmeier brothers were inducted into the National Aviation Hall of Fame in 2014.[9][12]

The brothers started Cirrus in the basement of their parents' rural dairy barn near Baraboo, Wisconsin.[13][14] Their first design, the VK-30 homebuilt aircraft, was introduced in 1987, although sales of the kit fluctuated and deliveries ultimately ceased only a few years later.[15] As the company grew they moved it in 1994 to Duluth, Minnesota, where from 2003 until his departure from Cirrus in 2009, Alan had heavy influence over the early design and development of the Vision Jet. Dale then continued the program, leading it to certification in 2016 and production in the ensuing years. The aircraft won the Collier Trophy in 2018 for representing the first jet of its kind to enter the market.[16][17]

After Cirrus, Alan became CEO of Kestrel Aircraft in 2010, which merged with Eclipse Aerospace in 2015 to form One Aviation.[18][19] The company ended operations in 2021.[20] Dale remains at Cirrus as a senior advisor and served as its CEO from 2011 to 2019.[21][22]

  1. ^ a b "gustavslora - pafg07.htm - Generated by Personal Ancestral File". Jorandby.net. Archived from the original on July 14, 2014. Retrieved July 25, 2014.
  2. ^ Mcclellan, J. Mac (February 1999). "Cirrus SR20". Flying Magazine. Retrieved February 17, 2024.
  3. ^ "Fleet First - The First Cirrus SR20 Finds a Home". AOPA. October 1999. Retrieved April 3, 2017.
  4. ^ "CAPS History by Cirrus Owners & Pilots Association". Cirruspilots.org. Retrieved September 21, 2018.
  5. ^ "Top 100 Airplanes:Platinum Edition". Flying. Retrieved February 5, 2015.
  6. ^ Robert Goyer (2011). "10 Ways that the SR22 Changed Flying". Archived from the original on January 9, 2016. Retrieved February 6, 2015.
  7. ^ a b Flying Magazine (July 2013). "51 Heroes of Aviation". Retrieved January 17, 2015.
  8. ^ "Cirrus Soars at First Flight Celebration". U. S. Centennial of Flight Commission. August 1, 2003. Archived from the original on July 14, 2014. Retrieved July 25, 2014.
  9. ^ a b "National Aviation Hall of Fame reveals names of "Class of 2014" at Wright Brothers Anniversary dinner". NationalAviation.org. Retrieved July 25, 2014.
  10. ^ Forbes (April 2001). "50 of America's Best". Forbes. Retrieved June 17, 2015.
  11. ^ Airport Journals Staff (January 2007). "Alan and Dale Klapmeier: "Dumb Enough to Start, Smart Enough To Finish"". Archived from the original on May 7, 2016. Retrieved June 11, 2014.
  12. ^ PRNewswire (2014). "Cirrus Aircraft Co-Founders Dale and Alan Klapmeier Inducted into National Aviation Hall of Fame" (Press release). Retrieved December 1, 2014.
  13. ^ "Finding the Right Funding – The Klapmeier brothers' Key Move". StartupNation. 2010.
  14. ^ Mike Ivey (2012). "Airplane Deal in Superior Has Interesting Back Story - A Tale of Two Brothers". Retrieved January 17, 2015.
  15. ^ EAA Museum (n.d.). "Cirrus Design Corporation VK-30 – N33VK". Retrieved November 25, 2014.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: year (link)
  16. ^ Hirschman, Dave (April 4, 2018). "Cirrus Lands Collier". AOPA. Retrieved May 23, 2018.
  17. ^ Walker, Julie (June 15, 2018). "Cirrus Takes Collier Trophy for the Vision Jet". AOPA. Retrieved July 21, 2018.
  18. ^ Glaber, Bill (May 2012). "Wisconsin Entrepreneur Points Kestrel Aircraft to Superior Skies". Retrieved November 25, 2014.
  19. ^ Grady, Mary (April 15, 2015). "Kestrel And Eclipse Join Forces". AVweb. Retrieved April 16, 2015.
  20. ^ "Court Converts One Aviation Bankruptcy Case to Liquidation". Aviation International News. February 19, 2021. Retrieved March 4, 2021.
  21. ^ Cirrus Aircraft News (2011). "Dale Klapmeier Named CEO". Archived from the original on March 18, 2015. Retrieved January 31, 2015.
  22. ^ Cite error: The named reference DuluthNewsTribune was invoked but never defined (see the help page).