Your flying along, everything is fine, until the engine sputters and quits. OK, don’t panic, these small planes glide for quite a distance, but the terrain below looks a bit tough. With low cloud cover finding a suitable place to set down will be impossible. Time to hit the silk. With a bit of a jerk, the parachute opens and the whole plane descends to the ground under the safety of this large canopy. All passengers are safe.
This scenario can be played out with only one make of aircraft. Cirrus Design, the one and only manufacturer of small planes that have their own emergency parachute incorporated into the plane.
Their most popular model the SR22 is a single engine high performance four seater that has been the world’s best selling in it’s class for the past five years. The SR22 Turbo is an option allowing the aircraft to go even higher and faster, a true hot rod of the sky.
Founded in 1984 in Baraboo Wisconsin, brothers Alan and Dale Klapmeier, started the business by producing a kit plane the VK-30. Cirrus now has established their headquarters in Duluth Minnesota. With facilities in Grand Forks North Dakota, and Bembridge England, Cirrus is the leader in composite construction of small aircraft.
With two certified designs under its belt, Cirrus is now working on a Jet Propelled model to address the higher end of their aircraft inventory. In a desire to capture as much of the market as possible they’re also working on a smaller less expensive model reported to sell for somewhere around $100,000. The SR Sport, a two seater, will be a partnership with a German company.
The one thing all models of Cirrus airplanes have in common is the CAPS (Cirrus Airframe Parachute System). This parachute system, when deployed, is designed to lower the aircraft and its occupants to the ground at a rate of 1500 feet per minute. Not a soft landing, but one that gives the occupants a better then average chance of survival.
Cirrus is well out in front of Cessna in sales when comparing the SR22’s to its counterpart the Cessna 172. Now with competitor Columbia filing bankruptcy, another opportunity arises. Cessna has an offer on the table of $22 million. Cirrus is also considering making an offer to buy Columbia.
Development and certification of the SR22 cost about $60 million, purchasing Columbia would give them two more certified designs at a fraction of the cost. Both Cirrus and Columbia specialize in composite designs, a commonality not enjoyed by Cessna.
If Cirrus is successful in obtaining Columbia, they plan to continue manufacturing in Bend Oregon. Columbia presently employs 400 people building 185 airplanes last year. Cirrus with 1,300 employees produced 721 aircraft in 2006.
With a number of expansions already under their belt, the future of Cirrus Design looks very bright. By far they have surpassed all expectations the City of Duluth had when the original plans for the business were settled, not much more then 10 years ago.
If your interested in a very detailed review, by a pilot who personally owns a Cirrus SR20, be sure to visit this web site.
www.phillip.greenspun.com/flying/cirrus-sr20
Phillip Greenspun gives a complete review, addressing many fine points of the specific handling characteristics of the aircraft in a number of situations.
www.duluthnewstribune.com
www.generalaviationnews.com
www.cirrusdesign.com
www.wikipedia.org
