Cirrus Aircraft’s [SF50 personal jet] Vision becoming reality

(02/28/13, General Aviation News, J. Wood) After years of stagnation, development of Cirrus Aircraft’s Vision SF50 jet is full steam ahead. Introduced at AirVenture in Oshkosh in 2006, the jet’s first flight was in 2008. Then came the economic collapse and the company’s search for new capital, resulting in the sale of Cirrus to China Aviation Industry General Aircraft (CAIGA). With backing from its new owners, the company was able to revive the Vision SF50 program, setting it on a path towards certification “before the end of 2015,” according to Dale Klapmeier, the company’s co-founder and CEO. “This has been a long, long program,” he acknowledged recently. “I like to say we’ve been going at the speed of cash.” He admits it’s “not as fast as I’d like,” but reports the company is making progress on the $1.9 million jet, touted as a personal jet designed to fill a niche between piston singles and twins and the Very Light Jet (VLJ). The V-tail jet, which will offer seating for up to five adults and two children, will be powered by a Williams International FJ33 engine and will feature a Garmin glass panel. Other standard features include air conditioning, reclining seats, a pilot “quick-don” emergency oxygen system, and a Cirrus Airframe Parachute System (CAPS). A new ballistic parachute system is being developed for the jet, building off the improved parachute system just debuted in the company’s Generation 5 models...