The Tsunami Project

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The Tsunami Project

Tsunami is an experimental purpose-built racing aircraft, designed to break the 3-km world speed record for propeller driven aircraft and to compete in Unlimited class air racing.

What is Tsunami?

Tsunami was and still is the world’s fastest home-built race plane ever built. Dreamed up by Minnesota industrialist John R. Sandberg and designed by Lockheed engineer Bruce Boland, Tsunami was built to compete in Unlimited air racing and to capture the absolute 3km speed world record for propeller driven aircraft.

History

Discover the original construction of the aircraft, including the initial specifications, construction and flight timeline, and ultimately, its loss.

Team

Meet the man behind the Tsunami idea, the engineers, builders, and supporters who provided skills and contributions to make the project a reality.

Project

Learn about the ambitious plan to resurrect the Tsunami aircraft, all while enabling the next generation to gain valuable, marketable skills. 

Inspiring the Next Generation

The primary objective of The Tsunami Project is to inspire the next generation and introduce them to the world of aviation. Ultimately we want our our youth to pursue careers in science, technology engineering and mathematics (STEM). In order to inspire the next generation and get them excited about these subjects we offer them a once in a lifetime opportunity.

Our parent organization Flight Expo Inc. partnered with the nationally recognized organization Build A Plane program a couple years ago to to launch a youth community outreach program. The program took kids ages 12-18 years old with little to zero knowledge of aviation and taught them how to build a flying aircraft. Although the program was very informal, the hands-on engagement the students received made a lasting impression. Two of our first year students went on to pursue careers in aviation and the majority of the others are still participating the program.  In the Fall of 2015 students began showing interest in The Tsunami Project, when we asked if they would like to build a few parts for Tsunami they jumped at the opportunity and the rest is history. Since that day the students have been working diligently on Tsunami. From building jigs to forming sheet metal they are learning all aspects of what it takes to build an airplane.