Flies Well in Metric Air, Too

Cirrus Design delivered its 100th European aircraft on May 20, 2003. (Cirrus has delivered more than 800 aircraft worldwide.) Louis D. Pallavicini in Chiasso, Switzerland purchased the SR20, which will be based out of Switzerland.

Cirrus Vice President of Business Administration Bill King pointed out, "Our operations are on the forefront of a growing international market. The global market has come to us to buy a safe and advanced aircraft. Those Euros, Pesos, and Rands are helping create good-paying jobs in our home states of Minnesota and North Dakota. We’re very proud of the work our people are doing and that work deserves to be shown on the international stage." (He also pointed out that Cirrus has generated more than $27 million in revenue attributed to the European market alone.)

"In a very short period of time we have emerged as a leading supplier of personal aircraft on a global scale," added Cirrus Executive Vice President, John Bingham.

Cirrus CEO Alan Klapmeier noted, "Our airplanes’ avionics and safety features are strong selling points on the international market. In fact, Europeans were early adopters of this new technology. As the only personal aircraft in its class available with a Primary Flight Display, we’ve captured the attention of experienced pilots across Europe and other parts of the world."

Cirrus expects to receive Joint Aviation Authority (JAA) certification for its aircraft before the end of this year and has been working actively to meet Germany’s demanding noise standards. Klapmeier says, "We eagerly anticipate achieving both of these goals in the very near future. Then our airplanes will become even more attractive to the European market. The JAA certification is important to European pilots who don’t want to fly under U.S. certification. And pilots who fly in Germany do not want to pay the higher landing fees associated with that country’s strict noise standards."

Cirrus sells approximately 15 percent of its aircraft outside of the U.S. including: Australia, Mexico, New Zealand, Russia, South Africa, and a variety of European countries including The UK, France, Holland and Germany. Cirrus doubled its output in 2002, and plans to soon be the largest-selling brand of GA aircraft in the world.

FMI: www.cirrusdesign.com