People: Jon Staudacher

TOP GUN IN AEROBATICS

Among stunt-airplane enthusiasts around the world, no brand name surpasses 'Staudacher.' In the past few years, it has emerged as the leading American designer and builder of aerobatic planes; no one else comes within a roll, spin, loop or hammerhead. Jon Staudacher, '72, owner of Staudacher Hydroplanes Inc. in Kawkawlin, is finally getting global recognition.

A recent NOVA documentary on PBS featured Staudacher as America's best hope to spearhead the next generation of high-performance planes. 'In the competitive world you have to be quick to respond to change and innovation,' explains Jon. 'We select proven technology and incorporate them in an evolutionary, not revolutionary, way. You have to be conservative in this business. A structural failure will almost certainly cause death.'

Even as a student at MSU, Jon was constantly learning, building racing boats for his father's company. After a successful career in that business, he switched to aerobatic planes in the 1980s. 'I lost enthusiasm for building race boats, and at the same time the profitability was declining,' he says. 'We've made an incredible turn. We're considered the best now both in quantity and performance.'

Today Jon remains the only builder who also competes in aerobatic flights--the two big championships being in Fond Du Lac, WI, and Sherman, TX. He builds 'everything except for the canopy in our shop-- and that includes the cowlings, the landing gear, you name it.' He adds with a chuckle, 'And Im also the test pilot.'

Jon puts in 70 hours a week and 'rarely get home before 10 p.m.' But the challenge of pushing the technological limits of stunt flying and of competing against big-name German and Russian designers keeps him motivated. So do profits. His average plane sells for $130,000, or about ten times more than hydroplanes.