Stephens Akro - Seattle, WA - Static Aircraft Displays on Waymarking.com

Located at the Museum of Flight are a large number of static aircraft on display. One of them is a Stephens Akro. The Museum of Flight website contains a page devoted to this aircraft and it reads:

Clayton Stephens designed the Akro specifically for homebuilders who want a plane for competitive aerobatics. The late Margaret Ritchie, 1966 U.S. Women's Aerobatic Champion, flew the prototype. The Akro's wooden wings and fabric-covered steel tube fuselage might seem flimsy, but it's rated to +12 g and -11 g -- meaning the plane can withstand the violent stresses of aerobatic maneuvers. The Akro design is the basis for the development of many modified mid-wing aerobatic planes, such as the Lasers, Ravens, and Extras seen on the air show circuit today.

The Museum's example was built by Gerry Zimmerman with a modified Lycoming 210-horsepower engine and became the first amateur-built Akro to fly in 1971. Purchased by Joann Osterud in 1976, the plane is a veteran of hundreds of aerobatic performances. Osterud donated the Akro in 1994.

Joann Osterud learned to fly here at Boeing Field and now performs magnificent maneuvers like hammerhead turns, tail-slides, and lomcevaks (tumbling end over end) on the air show circuit. Osterud also has a second aviation career -- she was the first woman pilot hired by Alaska Airlines.

Type of Aircraft: (make/model): Stephens Akro Tail Number: (S/N): 434; Registration No. N78JN Construction:: original aircraft Location (park, airport, museum, etc.): Museum of Flight inside / outside: inside Other Information:: Not listed Access restrictions: Not listed

Visit Instructions:
Photo of aircraft (required - will be interesting to see if the aircraft is ever repainted or progress if being restored)
Photo of serial number (required unless there is not one or it is a replica)
Photo(s) of any artwork on the aircraft (optional but interesting)

Tell why you are visiting this waymark along with any other interesting facts or personal experiences about the aircraft not already mentioned.

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Date Logged Log User Rating   08/28/2022 r.e.s.t.seekers visited it 10/01/2018 Ulven7470 visited it

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