I'm sad to report that we lost one of our members today, Jon Karkow "Kinnerhatz".
Jon was an Engineering Fellow with Icon.
Jon Karkow spent 21 years in aircraft development at Burt Rutan's Scaled Composites and over that time rightfully earned the reputation as the most accomplished aeronautical engineer and project engineer in the history of Scaled. He led more than 20 aircraft programs and five complete airplanes including the record-breaking, around-the-world Virgin GlobalFlyer that won him a 2006 Aeronautics Laureate Award from Aviation Week & Space Technology. Most recently, he served as the Technical Program Manager for Richard Branson's commercial space program SpaceShipTwo. A licensed airframe and powerplant mechanic, Jon received a BS in Physics at Kenyon College and a BS in Aeronautical Engineering at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute. He was an active pilot and experimental test pilot with instrument, multi-engine, seaplane, helicopter, and glider ratings.
Jon was a great guy and a brilliant engineer. I had the pleasure of flying a few times with him, once in the Charger and once in an Amphib C-206 for my first taste of flying off of water.
He will be missed.
Jon was an Engineering Fellow with Icon.
Jon Karkow spent 21 years in aircraft development at Burt Rutan's Scaled Composites and over that time rightfully earned the reputation as the most accomplished aeronautical engineer and project engineer in the history of Scaled. He led more than 20 aircraft programs and five complete airplanes including the record-breaking, around-the-world Virgin GlobalFlyer that won him a 2006 Aeronautics Laureate Award from Aviation Week & Space Technology. Most recently, he served as the Technical Program Manager for Richard Branson's commercial space program SpaceShipTwo. A licensed airframe and powerplant mechanic, Jon received a BS in Physics at Kenyon College and a BS in Aeronautical Engineering at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute. He was an active pilot and experimental test pilot with instrument, multi-engine, seaplane, helicopter, and glider ratings.
Jon was a great guy and a brilliant engineer. I had the pleasure of flying a few times with him, once in the Charger and once in an Amphib C-206 for my first taste of flying off of water.
He will be missed.
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