Quicksilver Aircraft

{{Short description|Aircraft manufacturer}} {{Use mdy dates|date=January 2022}} {{Use American English|date=January 2022}} {{Infobox company | name = Quicksilver Aircraft | logo = File:Quicksilver Aircraft logo.png | logo_size = | caption = | type = | genre = | fate = | predecessor = | successor = | foundation = [[1972 in aviation|1972]] | founder = Dick Eipper | defunct = | location_city = [[Temecula, CA|Temecula]], [[California]] | location_country = [[United States of America]] | location = | locations = | area_served = | key_people = Dan Perez (COO) | industry = [[Aerospace manufacturer]] | products = [[Kit aircraft]] | services = | revenue = | operating_income = | net_income = | aum = | assets = | equity = | owner = | num_employees = | parent = | divisions = | subsid = | homepage = {{URL|quicksilveraircraft.com}} | footnotes = | intl = }}

'''Quicksilver Aircraft''' is an American manufacturer of [[ultralight aircraft|ultralight]] and [[light aircraft]]. Founded in 1972 as '''Eipper Formance''' and later '''Eipper Aircraft''',<ref>Markowski, Michael A. ''Build your own ultralight? - tips from an expert''. ''[[Popular Science]]'', May 1984, p.106.</ref> the company today claims to be the leading manufacturer of ultralight aircraft in the United States,<ref>[http://www.quicksilveraircraft.com/ Quicksilver Manufacturing official site], accessed 2011-02-10</ref> with the Quicksilver type ultralight being used to train more ultralight pilots than any other type.<ref>Goyer 2004, p.131.</ref>

The company was previously known as Quicksilver Manufacturing Inc.<ref name="QM">{{cite web|url= http://quicksilveraircraft.com/gt500.htm|title= GT500|access-date= 9 December 2022 |website=Quicksilver Aircraft |year= 2011|archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20110715135805/http://quicksilveraircraft.com/gt500.htm|archive-date= July 15, 2011}}</ref>

In 2015 the owners dissolved Quicksilver Aeronautics and closed the Temecula factory after a prolonged downturn in sales, while retaining the intellectual property and arranging for parts and support to be supplied through long-time distributors such as Air-Tech Inc.<ref name="AOPA2015">{{cite web|last=Marsh|first=Alton K.|title=Quicksilver dissolves, overall aviation outlook flat|url=https://www.aopa.org/news-and-media/all-news/2015/october/21/quicksilver-dissolves-aviation-market-looking-flat|website=[[Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association|AOPA]]|date=21 October 2015|access-date=3 December 2025}}</ref><ref name="AusFly2015">{{cite web|title=Quicksilver Aircraft closes factory|url=https://www.australianflying.com.au/news/quicksilver-aircraft-closes-factory|website=Australian Flying|date=23 October 2015|access-date=3 December 2025}}</ref>

==History==

Quicksilver was founded in Eipper Formance, a hang glider manufacturer established by Dick Eipper in Southern California in the early 1970s.<ref name="History">{{cite web|title=History|url=https://www.quicksilveraircraft.com/history.php|website=Quicksilver Aircraft|access-date=3 December 2025}}</ref><ref name="Johnson">{{cite web|last=Johnson|first=Dan|title=Quicksilver – The Cessna of the Ultralight Industry|url=https://www.ultralightsaustralia.com.au/quicksilver-articles-mobile|website=Ultralights Australia|access-date=3 December 2025}}</ref> Eipper Formance produced both flexible-wing and rigid-wing hang gliders, including Bob Lovejoy's Quicksilver rigid-wing design, which used a rectangular wing and conventional tail surfaces rather than a delta wing.<ref name="History" /><ref name="Johnson" />

In the late 1970s the company began experimenting with adding engines and landing gear to the Quicksilver glider, creating the Quicksilver C as a self-launching powered glider aimed at pilots flying from flat terrain.<ref name="History" /><ref name="Johnson" /> Subsequent versions introduced tricycle landing gear and progressively more conventional aerodynamic controls, leading to the Quicksilver E and then the MX series, which replaced pure weight-shift control with two- and three-axis control surfaces.<ref name="History" /><ref name="Johnson" />

Eipper Formance was renamed Eipper Aircraft and later Quicksilver Aircraft. Under later ownership the firm traded as ''Quicksilver Manufacturing Inc.'', headquartered in Temecula, California, and offered a seven-model line-up that included Sprint and Sport trainers and the more enclosed GT series.<ref name="History" /><ref name="QM" /><ref name="Johnson" />

Quicksilver's GT400 and GT500 models, introduced in the mid-1980s and early 1990s, were designed as higher-performance aircraft with podded or enclosed cockpits. The GT500 became the first aircraft to be certificated by the [[Federal Aviation Administration]] in the Primary Category for sportplanes in 1993.<ref name="QM" /><ref name="Johnson" />

In the 2010s the company developed the Sport 2SE, a fully built, two-seat [[light-sport aircraft|Special Light-Sport Aircraft]] (S-LSA) derived from the open-cockpit Sport 2S. The Sport 2SE received S-LSA approval in 2014 and has been marketed as a trainer and rental aircraft.<ref name="Flying2014">{{cite web|title=We Fly: Quicksilver Sport 2SE|url=https://www.flyingmag.com/aircraft-lsasport-we-fly-quicksilver-sport-2se/|website=Flying |date=22 December 2014|access-date=3 December 2025}}</ref><ref name="AOPA2019">{{cite web|title=Flying a Certified Ultralight Trainer – The Quicksilver Sport 2SE|url=https://youcanfly.aopa.org/flying-clubs/flying-club-newsletter/2019/november/17/aircraft-spotlight|website=AOPA Flying Club Newsletter|date=17 November 2019|access-date=3 December 2025}}</ref>

In October 2015 Quicksilver announced a major reorganisation and closed its Temecula factory after a difficult financial year, with management citing falling sales and the need to liquidate assets.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.avweb.com/avwebflash/news/Quicksilver-Aircraft-Reorganizing-225040-1.html|title=Quicksilver Aircraft "Reorganizing"|work=AVweb|date=21 October 2015|access-date=23 October 2015}}{{Dead link|date=August 2025 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref>

Later that month the owners opted to dissolve Quicksilver Aeronautics, the then-current corporate entity, while retaining the intellectual property and arranging for long-time dealer Air-Tech Inc. of Reserve, Louisiana, and other suppliers to provide parts and potential future kits.<ref name="AOPA2015" /><ref name="AusFly2015" />

An official statement issued on behalf of Flying Spirit Aircraft, the rights-holding company, indicated that factory support for existing aircraft and replacement parts would continue through third-party companies and that new kits might be offered depending on demand.<ref name="AusFly2015" />

[[File:QuicksilverManufacturingLogo.png|thumb|Previous logo as Quicksilver Manufacturing]]

==References== ;Citations {{reflist}}

;Bibliography {{refbegin}} *{{cite book|last=Goyer|first=Norm|title=Air Sports: The Complete Guide to Aviation Adventure|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=DG9g7NyEtiUC&pg=PA131|access-date=2011-02-10|year=2004|publisher=McGraw-Hill|location=New York|isbn=0-07-141051-1}} {{refend}}

==External links== {{Commons category|Quicksilver aircraft}} *{{Official website|http://www.quicksilveraircraft.com}} {{Quicksilver Aircraft}}

[[Category:Aircraft manufacturers of the United States]] [[Category:Temecula, California]]