About Volmer Jensen
Volmer grew up during the pioneering days of aviation. He was born in Minnesota and moved to Seattle as a teenager. Volmer undertook to get himself airborne. This he did in a homemade hang-glider designed somewhat earlier by Octave Chanute, plans for which appeared in Popular Mechanics magazine. The initial hang glider was followed by a succession of gliders. By 1930, Volmer was an accomplished sailplane pilot whose reputation became well known. He moved to Glendale, California, in 1937 and joined Hawley Bowlus, who was building an experimental twin-engine executive aircraft. In his spare time, Volmer designed and built the VJ-10 high-performance sailplane, which was subsequently purchased by the military for the assault glider training program. Volmer spent the war years in the classroom instructing at Aero Industries Technical Institute. As the war drew to a close, he began formulating plans for an affordable airplane. This was the VJ-21 and it drew heavily upon his experience with sailplanes. One feature pilots found most impressive was its superb forward visibility, unfortunately, the postwar boom in private flying was a bust and the VJ-21 never got to the marketplace. In the late 60’s, with the advent of the new generation of hang gliders, thousands began taking the sky in their “kites.” They were flimsy, for the most part, and lacked control. There was a rash of fatal accidents. Volmer was appalled by what he saw as needless carnage. The result was the VJ-23, which was safe and sturdy. The VJ-23 quickly became popular with aspiring airmen and evolved as the progenitor