Cirrus Aircraft News

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

 

Duluth, Minnesota and Zhuhai, China -- Monday, February 28, 2011 -- Cirrus Industries, Inc. (Cirrus), a recognized leader in general aviation, and China Aviation Industry General Aircraft Co., Ltd. (CAIGA) today announced that they have entered into a definitive merger agreement pursuant to which CAIGA would acquire Cirrus.

Known for incorporating luxury automotive ergonomics, pilot-friendly avionics and advanced safety features into its high performance airplanes, Cirrus has delivered nearly 5,000 new piston airplanes over the last decade.  For nine years in a row, the Cirrus SR22 family of aircraft has been the best-selling four-place airplane in the world. Cirrus pioneered the use of the FAA-certified Cirrus Airframe Parachute System^TM that is standard equipment on all Cirrus aircraft.  

Brent Wouters, Cirrus’s President and Chief Executive Officer, commenting on the transaction, noted that “This transaction will have a positive impact on our business and our customers because we share a common vision with CAIGA to grow our general aviation enterprise worldwide.  CAIGA brings new resources that will allow us to expedite our aircraft development programs and accelerate our global expansion.”  Mr. Wouters further noted the positive impact on jobs and job growth stating that “CAIGA understands the strength and the talent of Cirrus’s workforce and the prominence of the Cirrus brand in general aviation.  Through this transaction, CAIGA will invest in our employees in both Minnesota and North Dakota by committing to the continued use of our world-class production facilities.”

CAIGA is a world-class provider of general aircraft products and related services headquartered in Zhuhai in the Guangdong Province of China.  Meng Xiangkai, CAIGA’s President, stated, “CAIGA is dedicated to being an international leader in the provision of general aviation products and services, and light piston aircraft is one of CAIGA’s business focuses.  We are very optimistic to begin our partnership with Cirrus and add Cirrus’s strong brand as the cornerstone in our aviation product portfolio.  We are deeply impressed with Cirrus's performance in the global general aviation industry, especially with its consistent product performance, comprehensive safety features, outstanding management team, highly skilled employee base and advanced production facilities as well as its expanding global footprint.  We look forward to working with Cirrus’s management team to build upon Cirrus’s proven success and to further expand production volume in order to cement Cirrus’s existing leadership position in the global general aviation industry, as well as to produce greater job opportunities in Duluth and Grand Forks.“

Commenting on the transaction with CAIGA, Cirrus’s Chairman and Co-Founder Dale Klapmeier expressed the same optimism about the future noting that “On behalf of everyone at Cirrus, we are thrilled to make this announcement.  With this transaction, Cirrus will continue to develop and build the best, most exciting aircraft in the world.  The original dream remains alive and well at Cirrus.  We are just embarking on our next chapter on a global stage.”

The transaction is expected to close around mid-2011.  The acquisition of Cirrus by CAIGA is subject to customary closing conditions, including clearance under the Hart-Scott-Rodino Antitrust Improvements Act and by the U.S. Government’s Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS), as well as obtaining all relevant Chinese Government Approvals.

VRA Partners, LLC acted as financial advisor and King & Spalding LLP acted as legal advisor to Cirrus in relation to this transaction.  Citigroup Global Markets Limited and CITIC Securities acted as joint financial advisors to CAIGA in relation to this transaction.  Dewey & LeBoeuf LLP acted as legal advisor and Ernst & Young LLP acted as accounting and tax advisor to CAIGA.

About Cirrus

Cirrus, a member of the global portfolio of Arcapita companies, is a recognized leader in general aviation.  The all-composite line of personal aircraft — SR20, SR22 and turbocharged SR22T — incorporate innovative and advanced performance, electronic and safety technologies, including Cirrus Perspective™ by Garmin® avionics and the unique Cirrus Airframe Parachute System™ (CAPS).  Through 2010, total time on the worldwide Cirrus Aircraft SR-series fleet surpassed 4.3 million flight hours with more than 48 lives saved to date as a direct result of CAPS being a standard safety feature on all Cirrus aircraft. The Cirrus Aircraft Vision Jet, with nearly 500 production positions reserved, will provide a new personal and regional business transportation solution - the 'personal jet'.  All Cirrus aircraft are made in the USA with a direct sales force in North America and authorized sales centers covering export markets in 60 countries around the world.  For additional information on Cirrus and its products please visit cirrusaircraft.com.

About CAIGA

Headquartered in Zhuhai, Guangdong Province in China, China Aviation Industry General Aircraft Co., Ltd. (CAIGA) is a leading solution provider in the general aviation industry of China. As a company with diversified shareholders, CAIGA controls 4 listed companies in China and the total revenue in 2010 reached US$2.9bn. Its main businesses include the R&D and manufacturing of light piston aircraft, turboprop aircraft, jet, amphibious aircraft as well as their parts & components. It also provides services including general aviation operations, pilot training and aviation clubs.

 

Contact:
Todd Simmons, Vice President of Marketing, Cirrus Aircraft
218.788.3302 
tsimmons@cirrusaircraft.com

Download Press Release 2 28 11 

Cirrus Congratulates Whelen Engineering and Michael Goulian on Their Exciting New Partnership

Goulian Aerosports partners with Whelen Engineering

Two innovative partners create multi-year strategic alliance

Maynard, MA (February 23, 2011) – Goulian Aerosports, a leading aviation marketing and air show company built upon champion pilot Mike Goulian, announced a new partnership with Whelen Engineering Co., Inc, Chester, CT.

Whelen is a leader in aviation, automotive, and mass notification lighting and warning signals.  Whelen is the only major US manufacturer of emergency warning equipment to still manufacture its products entirely in the United States in two facilities, one in Connecticut and the other in New Hampshire.

READ the entire press release: Download Whelen Press Release 2-23-2011

Cirrus Aircraft proudly offers Whelen landing and wingtip lights (pictured below) on the exclusive 2011 Limited Commemorative Edition SR22T.

 

 

INSIDE CIRRUS EVENTS: A SUMMARY OF RECENT CONVERSATIONS WITH OUR OWNERS

At each Inside Cirrus Event recently, we have on hand our newest airplanes including the Vision Jet, members of the executive team, colleagues from Garmin and Bose and more. After a brief multi-media "insider's view" of Cirrus, we open the floor to questions and comments. Because the conversations at these events are so important, we want to share some of them with everyone. So we are continuing post several of the more common topics we chatted with you about.

Feel free to contact us with additional questions and comments and be looking for information about the next Inside Cirrus Tour on the West Coast in the U.S. and in Latin America beginning in March 2011!

 
 
Q:  What is your progress on the Vision jet?  What milestones have been accomplished in 2010?

A:  Paul Brey, Vice President – Product Development, is leading the Vision Jet Engineering Team and has been with Cirrus since 1996. Paul served in a similar role for both the SR20 and SR22 piston aircraft programs.
 
The recent focus on the Vision Jet program has been two-fold: first, address the highest risk systems on the airplane;  and second, make steady progress such that the critical path design elements are minimized as we anticipate increased program funding.
 
Within these two areas, our attention has been on several items. A significant area of progress was working several flap iterations through flight test. We selected a two element, vaned flap on low complexity drop hinges (hinges below the wing surface). We validated stall performance in the mid/upper 60s knot range with acceptable control through all the power and flap configurations. Final flap span, aileron span and wing tip shape are now ready for type design. 
 
We have refined the powerplant/airframe pitch response to high thrust inputs. Several design opportunities are yielding desirable results. The ability for this system’s response to be integrated for excellent handling and performance is now a reality and we are excited about how this particular area of engineering has progressed. We continue to optimize these design options and will soon select a combination that presents the best customer value in terms of performance, complexity and reliability.
 
Basic performance flight test is largely complete for the prototype aircraft (that we call V1). Stability, flying qualities and speed/range performance are validated and we are confident that the type design will exceed regulatory requirements and meet our planned performance goals. Wing aerodynamic loft is also fixed. In 2010, we completed a detailed computational fluid dynamics analysis and selected a de-cambered wing root loft that reduced drag substantially.
 
Analysis, dry ice shape and natural ice testing has been completed to establish final placement and extents of leading edge boots with good fitting offsets for minimal drag. TKS fluid coverage for the nose and windshield was iterated several times, and as a result of testing we now consider this item low risk. Heating extents on the engine inlet and duct have been determined by flight test. We will complete additional flight test this spring to optimize the heat areas and minimize bleed requirements, and will be in good shape to move forward with final inlet design with our partner, Meggitt.

 Pictured above:  V1 ice measurement devices in action. The sphere is used to measure droplet size and the blade is used to measure accretion rate.
 
In early 2010, we completed half-scale, proof-of-concept tooling to validate the single piece pressure hull fuselage construction concept. Numerous lay-up, bagging, tool sealing and curing iterations were completed allowing us to move forward confidently with the fuselage detail design. In addition, we tooled and built a full-scale fuselage pressure vessel for testing structural deflection and door performance. This test article was tested with a two piece door. The door frame, door structure, seals and latching scheme have been iterated several times and we are converging on a design we are confident will work well. Additional test iterations in 2011 will include windshield installation, door and passenger window installations and inclusion of the latching linkage actuation mechanism. The fuselage loft and door jamb loft designs have been frozen. The fuselage pressure vessel composite laminate drawings have been completed to about 80% maturity.

 
Pictured above:  Pressure testing two-piece carbon door with window. Stress and deflection is measured with strain gauges and mechanical deflection indicators. Data is measured and recorded electronically in addition to the cameras recording the tests. The yellow strap is loosely fitted and is added as a test safety measure.
 
Carbon pre-impregnated composite material (pre-preg) suitable for commitment to long-term agreement for the Vision was selected as a result of 2010 work. Considerations in the screening and selection process included mechanical and thermal properties, processing characteristics, laminate quality, ultrasonic energy attenuation and cost. The final material selection is with a supplier that we have a working experience with, and is a new formulation that we believe provides the best performance. As a result of this work, we have also identified and trialed the non-destructive inspection (NDI) method we intend to use for each major part. This means that the NDI technology selected works and we understand the process capability. Most of the remaining NDI effort will focus on developing the robotics necessary to achieve the production throughput we have targeted. There are multiple suppliers of existing technology that will suit our needs and a down-selection program is underway. We anticipate full-scale testing starting with the Vision carbon stabilizer structure and both wing spars for certification credit during this year.
 
Adhesive system screening for structural bonding is about 33 percent complete as early 2011. Our suppliers have shipped the new formulations needed for specific Vision performance requirements. Testing and down selection will be completed in the second quarter, and the selected materials will be qualified in conjunction with the primary carbon/epoxy material.
 
Systems design continues to progress nicely. By the end of 2010, the Vision team completed Preliminary Design Review (PDR) of about two-thirds of the systems on the aircraft. Cirrus defines PDR in a manner similar to NASA and DOD systems engineering protocols and PDR is the most critical maturity milestone. This means that design architecture and main systems components are selected, safety and functional hazard assessments are complete, space claims and system design has been CAD modeled and the design has been approved for the next stage, which is detailed type design. We expect to continue to work through the rest of the systems in 2011.
 
As with the SR2X development, the Cirrus Airframe Parachute System™ (CAPS) remains one of the most complex systems and will require extra attention through the duration of the program. It is a very expense-intensive to mature and test the design, and full-scale system testing will occur later in the program. In order to reduce risk exposure, Cirrus tested scaled recovery parachutes in August 2010, and anticipates two more rounds of development testing in 2011. This testing is used to characterize the parachute performance over a range of sizes, weights, altitudes, reefing ratios and deployment speeds. This set of designed experiments allows interpolation and extrapolation of the parachute inflation characteristics and drag coefficients. This data is then used in modeling and simulation to understand the parachute loads and allow us to complete the fuselage design. As with the SR2X, the final design must be demonstrated by in-flight deployments. The development testing and simulation completed to date results in a higher confidence and more mature parachute design than we had available in the SR20 certification program in 1997.

Certification efforts continue to move forward at a steady pace. We have more than 90% of the ‘novel’ issue papers resolved, and we can establish our final certification basis within six months. Both our conventional approach to the design and our proposals for showing compliance to the FARs give us confidence that certification risks are low. This is a very significant positive status.

Finally, significant effort and progress has been made to secure further funding for Vision Jet completion and we expect to have more specific news on this topic soon. So, as we move into 2011, we are continuing our work toward making progress in key design and systems areas and reducing program risk. At the same time, we continue to refine our expedited plan in anticipation of additional funding.

Starting the expedited plan shifts the program from a technical risk phase - that we address through design, development, and testing - to an execution and program management risk phase.  With additional capital in place, critical program elements that will be executed at higher rate are:

• Execution of supplier and risk sharing partner subcontracts
• Ramping up project technical staff and design partners
• Managing multiple large tooling vendors simultaneously
• Ramping up build and test technician staff to allow building three conforming flight test vehicles and a dozen major test article fabrications over a two year period
• Establishing a complex project planning and program control team

We are confident that the SF50 can be certified and in production within 36 months of additional anticipated capital funding.

Cirrus Welcomes Cal Air Aviation as Cirrus Training Center

Cirrus Aircraft welcomes Cal Air Aviation to our growing network of Cirrus Training Centers. Cal Air is located on the Southwest corner of the Torrance, CA airport (KTOA).

Cal Air caters to the aviation enthusiast who desires to be on the cutting edge of innovation and fly in state of the art aircraft. As a Cirrus Training Center, Cal Air offers a full lineup of training options for current and future Cirrus pilots, including primary and advanced training, transition training, and recurrent training.

Cal Air's facility offers a true professional flight school experience including an extensive library of books, supplements, handouts, computer based training aides, and other resources. Students and pilots are welcomed to stop by anytime to study, sit in on ground lessons, observe flights from the back seat, or just hang out with other people who share the same passion for aviation.

Jonathan Lucas, owner of Cal Air, is working dilligently to obtain a Cirrus-specific simulator, which they plan to take delivery of in the spring.

Contact Cal Air to begin your Cirrus training today!

Cirrus Aircraft Offers State-of-the-Art Maintenance Training

Cirrus is proud to now offer maintenance training at our new Cirrus Maintenance Training Centers (CMTC) in Las Vegas, Nevada, Paris, France, and Groningen, Netherlands.  All CMTC’s offer Factory Certificates of Maintenance Training for Cirrus products including: composite structures maintenance and repair; and Cirrus Airframe Parachute Systems (CAPS™) maintenance. Cirrus continues to offer maintenance training at the Duluth, MN, World Headquarters.  See the 2011 training dates, pricing and registration information

 

Download 2011 Field Services Training Schedule

Download New course offering descriptions

This Cirrus training is not restricted to Cirrus Authorized Service Centers.  Anyone interested in excellent training in the world’s leading general aviation aircraft may attend, including those not holding engineering and mechanics certificates.

And finally, new to Cirrus technical training is the Cirrus Initial Training Course, this 80-hour course offers comprehensive training on all aspects of the aircraft including composite repair, aircraft systems, CAPS, and integrated avionics.

 

Recognizing that Cirrus systems are continually evolving and in support of world class service, Cirrus will begin offering in 2012 the Cirrus Recurrent Training Course 40-hours.  The following course descriptions provide specific curriculum details.  Cirrus offers the following selection of technical training courses that provide the expertise needed to safely and correctly maintain state-of-the-art aircraft:

80-Hour Initial Training Course:  Comprehensive aircraft systems training that covers all aspects of Cirrus aircraft including integrated avionics, Cirrus Aircraft Parachute System (CAPS™), powerplant systems, flight controls, composite inspection and repair practices. This course is required for all new Cirrus Authorized Service Centers and recommended to anyone wishing to have the necessary knowledge and practical skills to maintaining and repair Cirrus Aircraft.   

40-Hour Recurrent Training Course:  The FAA identifies recurrent training of technicians as a fundamental need in the retention and understanding of applied practices used in the aviation industry. The Cirrus 40-hour Recurrent Training Course covers all aircraft systems introduced by Cirrus in previous 24-month period. The course includes a refresher on composite repairs and inspection, flight control rigging, engine systems including turbo and avionics LRU practices. As added benefit, this course meets criteria for IA renewal and can be used to supplement 145 repair station training needs.   

32-Hour Composite Structures Course: This course is part of the 80-hour Cirrus Initial course but is offered as a standalone curriculum as well. If you really want to gain the practical skills and knowledge of composite aircraft structures, this is the course to take. Technicians develop competence and confidence through personal, supervised experience of repairing composites through several standard and optional projects. Instruction is provided in navigating technical publications, assessing and documenting damage and documenting repairs. Manuals, training aids, and certificate of factory training are provided upon successful completion of this course.

 

32-Hour AMx2.0 Online training course:  Cirrus Aircraft now offers factory approved training with our internet based Cirrus Aircraft Maintenance 2.0, or "AMx 2.0.“ Cirrus offers this online training with a series of Quick Reference guides and three multiple choice exams to give technicians a cost-effective and flexible option for self- or group study. The goal of this online offering is to provide quality materials for instruction to take place where it will be used - within the maintenance repair organization. Primary features include:

• Online Learning Management System
•  Quick reference guides with new content
•  For group or self study
•  Multiple choice exams demonstrate technician understanding of the material.

Over the past decade Cirrus has carefully developed and refined its technical training to provide a balance of lecture and practical hands-on lab training. This balance allows the student superior retention and immediate application of newly learned skills that are applicable to real world maintenance and repair needs.  

All Cirrus technical courses are competitively priced and offered at multiple domestic US and international locations through our CMTC network.  Cirrus also provides technical training at locations convenient to customer needs.  Contact Cirrus at servicetraining@cirrusdesign.com or call 1.866.290.0418 Option 5

 

Upgrade to 2011

 

Upgrade to your most capable Cirrus. Ever.

 
With three exemplary models to choose and a selection of features - Certified Flight Into Known Icing (FIKI), Electronic Stability and Protection ( ESP), Air Conditioning, Cirrus Airframe Parachute System (CAPS ™), to name a few - you get exactly the airplane you're dreaming of.  No other aircraft in this class can offer you the performance, luxury and personalization your Cirrus provides.

The 2011 Limited Commemorative Edition SR22T (pictured above)

To celebrate ten years of the SR22, we've designed our most impressive aircraft yet. With exclusive exterior design and interior style, unparalleled feature packages and accessories created just to mark the occasion, only ten will be produced. If you want to own a piece of history, don't wait. Go here for more details on the Limited Edition Aircraft.

Upgrade to a 2011 Cirrus with These Limited Offers  

• Get top dollar for your trade - on any aircraft* - through Cirrus Certified. 
• List your airplane through Cirrus Certified and apply the equivalent of the 4.9 percent brokerage commission towards your brand new Cirrus.
• Find an even better deal on your Cirrus by selecting from our professionally flown Demo aircraft or our inventory of Cirrus Certified.

For more information, CONTACT US or call 888.248.0521 or +1.218.529.7292

 

 

Cirrus Owner: Tim McGraw

 

Last May, recording artist and motion picture actor Tim McGraw added a new title to his impressive collection of achievements:  Cirrus Pilot.   Like many of you, he uses his Cirrus for so many activities in his life - and enjoys the luxury that is flying a Cirrus Aircraft.

Little more introduction is required, we will let Tim tell it from his point of view. Enjoy!

WATCH the video:  Cirrus Owner: Tim McGraw

LOWEST FINANCING RATE IN YEARS

Cirrus Finance is offering the lowest interest rate in years - 5.6% with a 15 percent down payment over a 20 year term.  This is a fixed rate with no pre-payment penalties.  Lower interest rates may be available with a higher down payment.  Contact us for details at 888.450.4826 or e-mail us at finance@cirrusaircraft.com.