Thus the lessons of the VK-30 were directly responsible for the design of the Cirrus SR20 and SR22, which have been the best-selling general aviation airplanes in the world every year since 2003.

Together after college, in the Klapmeier brothers' parents' dairy barn in rural Sauk County, Wisconsin,[10] they formed Cirrus Design in 1984 as the company to produce the VK-30 ("VK" standing for Viken-Klapmeier).

During the kit's early developmental phase, the Klapmeiers and Vikens sought frequent help and advice from homebuilt innovator Molt Taylor, who specialized in pusher configurations dating back to the 1940s.

[11] The original prototype incorporated scrapped parts from production aircraft out of junkyards the Klapmeier brothers visited in order to reduce cost, including both a control system and nose landing gear from a Piper Cherokee (welding parts onto it to convert it to a retractable gear), as well as an O-540 (290 hp) engine off a wrecked de Havilland Heron.

The idea never materialized at that time, however, it significantly inspired the original design concept of the Vision Jet in the mid-2000s.

[8] Cirrus discontinued production of the aircraft in 1993, and in 1996, announced plans to develop a stronger replacement wing for about 28 VK-30s supplied to past customers.