Cirrus Vision SF50
At a customer appreciation event at Sun 'n Fun on Thursday evening, Cirrus Aircraft shared some new details of the progress of the Cirrus Vision SF50 jet. Marketing VP Ben Kowalski said that the four production conforming jets are flying up a storm as the company works toward FAA certification late this year. The $2 million jet seats five to seven and is equipped, like the company's SR20 and SR22 piston singles, with a whole airplane recovery parachute system, called Cirrus Airframe Parachute in the jet.
Cirrus reportedly has more than 500 orders for the jet. Individual jets are flying a variety of test programs, including the basic stability and flying qualities tests, flights in natural icing (easier to find in Duluth than in many other places), electronics security and durability testing.
Speaking of the jet's chute, Kowalski also announced that Cirrus has now completed its 50th parachute drop, all from a helicopter. Much larger than the chute in the SR22, the hybrid rocket deployed chute is working well, Kowalski said, and he expressed confidence in chute certification being completed on time despite the obstacles the chute system has faced, being installed in a much faster and heavier airplane than the chute in the SR series models.
Stay tuned for more details on the SF50's progress in Flying Magazine.
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