Cirrus Reaches 1,000 Aircraft Milestone -- Outpaces All Other
Start-Up Companies In Past 50 Years!
It's been a great few
weeks for Alan Klapmeier and the folks of Cirrus Design. Earlier
this week, they showed off their thousandth completed Cirrus
airframe and yesterday, ANN named their SR20 as our 2003 Plane of
the Year.
Just a few weeks before (at Oshkosh 2003), CD announced a
new Centennial Edition SR22 that will commemorate the 100th
anniversary of the Wright Brothers' first flight. Additionally,
another new model called the SRV was introduced with similar
styling, design and avionics to the company's SR20 model, certified
for VFR-only flight for $189,900 (an unheard of price for a four
place high performance aircraft... much less one that comes with an
Avidyne Entegra PFD/MFD system as standard equipment.
The company also announced that its fleet has become "all glass"
with the exclusive Avidyne Entegra PFD and MFD now standard
equipment in all Cirrus aircraft. Finally; the North Carolina Park
Service announced an exciting new addition to the First Flight
Centennial Celebration and Wright Brothers Memorial by Cirrus
Design: the creation of a new "Technology of Flight" exhibit. The
Cirrus SR22 airplane was also selected as the "Official Aircraft of
the First Flight Centennial Celebration. We should all have months
like these...
CD claims that no other start-up airplane company in the past 50
years has done what Cirrus has done - produce 1,000 aircraft within
four years of its first delivery --- according to industry
statistics dating back to 1946. Cirrus has grown from approximately
30 employees in 1994 to nearly 850 today. In the first two quarters
of 2004, Cirrus shipped 200 units out of an industry total for
single-engine aircraft of 626 units shipped, or 31.9 percent of the
total units shipped.
Holding the keys to their latest creation, a Centennial Edition
SR22 (N1000V) at their Duluth headquarters, Cirrus Design
Co-Founders Alan and Dale Klapmeier, contemplate the future of
aviation. "Since well before our first production aircraft was
delivered," says Alan Klapmeier, "we have held firm to the vision
of making flying easier and safer and, therefore, more accessible
to a broader range of pilots. Today, we have come one step closer
to that dream. Building our 1,000th aircraft is a true testament
that introducing new technology and unmatched safety measures can
help spur the growth of the personal aviation industry*."
The results have allowed the company to keep pace with the
demand as well as position itself for its next significant
production ramp up, anticipated to take place within a year. "We
have gone from producing nine planes in 1999 to production of 450
planes planned for this year," says company Executive Vice
President/Chief Operating Officer David Coleal. "It took 36 months
to produce the first 300 planes and only 18 months to manufacture
the next 700 aircraft." The next phase of the ramp up would
increase production from its current output of two planes per day
to three planes daily. "This will require another round of
operational changes to achieve that level - planning considerations
already in motion," he says.
Demand for the Cirrus SR20 and SR22 has grown steadily over the
past four years. The company set a new record of 51 planes sold in
July and this month is on target to continue the trend.
"The news continues to build for Cirrus as we enter the next 100
years of aviation," says Dale Klapmeier. "Reaching this milestone
was a goal that we only dreamed of a few years ago; and today it's
a reality. As we continue down the path of improving personal
aviation through advanced technology, the next 100 years of
personal aviation could prove to be even more exciting than the
last."