Tue, Nov 01, 2016
Much Delayed Ten-Year Development Program Culminates In FAA Announcement
After dozens of delays, a series of missed deadlines spanning several years, and lots of hype and disappointment, the FAA has finally granted type certification to the Cirrus Vision Jet following a 10-year development program.
Cirrus Aircraft announced the certification of the Vision Jet Monday morning at the NBAA-BACE in Orlando, FL. Company executives said that the certification paves the way for customer deliveries later this year, but gave minimal details about how many deliveries are expected and what the actual order book truly looks like (i.e., how many actual jet orders are backed by real live customers with real live dollars).
While the type certification was finally granted, issues involving the all-important production certificate are yet to be addressed and the company's press materials failed to reveal anything substantive amidst all the glowing self-praise and sales fluff.
The flight deck features a Garmin flight deck, which delivers a wide array of highly sophisticated, easy-to-use global navigation capabilities and safety features to the pilot via a touch-screen interface. Powering the Flight-Into-Known-Ice (FIKI) approved Vision Jet is a single, smart FADEC-controlled Williams International FJ33-5A turbofan engine.
The Cirrus Vision Jet is the product of a decades-long product development program spear-headed by Cirrus Founder Alan Klapmeier out of the once mysterious "Moose Works" R&D facility in Duluth, Minnesota. Alan was forced out of the company in 2009 after which Cirrus was mired in a number of documented legal controversies and scandals, as well as a series of management shakeups.
Initial customer deliveries of the Vision Jet are 'scheduled to begin' in 2016, with production ramping up throughout 2017.
(Images provided with Cirrus Aircraft news release)
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