61 Birds SOLD In October!

A cautiously optimistic Alan Klapmeier, the boss at Cirrus Design, revealed to ANN that October's sales figures set another record, the fourth in as many months, for the "not-so-little (anymore) company that COULD."

All in all, 61 SRVs, SR20s and SR22s were sold to buyers who have come to appreciate a trend-setting airplane that has apparently lead the rest of the industry to adopt extensive use of EFIS systems, advanced technologies and aggressive price/performance specs. After announcing that it was adopting an ALL-EFIS production doctrine last July, while also introducing an entry-level, high-performance VFR version of the SR series for less than $190K; market response has been even better than expected with four months of steadily improving sales. The October record was somewhat surprising, though, after a number of economic/tax incentives started expiring at the end of September (though others still remain in effect).

"We think that today's airplane buyer is learning that they can demand a lot of performance for less money than they had to spend, in the past. It's not the easiest path we could have chosen, but we remain committed to making sure that we're putting as much airplane in our customer's hands, for the dollar, as we can. The last four months suggests that we're doing the right thing," says Klapmeier.

Alan also noted hope for continued success in the future, now that there appears to be some easing in the insurance cost/availability situation, with some 1100 airplanes now in circulation and aggressive pilot training programs in place by both Cirrus Design and the Cirrus Owners and Pilot's Association (COPA). "We're working hard to show the insurance industry how safely our airplanes can be flown... and I think we're starting to get through to them."  

The message seems to gaining a foothold throughout the industry with recent announcements by several manufacturers of adoption of either the Avidyne or recently introduced Garmin G1000 GA EFIS system for their aircraft. These developments have been reinforced by aggressive new pricing scenarios by Cessna (for the G1000-equipped C182) and Diamond Aircraft (for the  G1000 equipped DA40).

FMI: www.cirrusdesign.com, www.cirruspilots.org