Cirrus Aircraft this week revealed to US aviation news outlet Avweb that it had developed a Rotax-powered trainer for their Chinese shareholder.
Dubbed the AG100, the FAR 23 three-seater is fitted with a Rotax 915iS engine and is a composite low-wing aeroplane.
Ivy McIver, Executive Director of Cirrus' SR line, told Avweb editor Paul Bertorelli that the aircraft was jointly developed in the US and China for the Chinese training market, but the aircraft has a US Type Certificate, opening the way for potential sales as the SR10.
However, McIver said that the US market would not be seeing the SR10 any time soon.
"The idea from the get-go was that this was developed under a contract basis," she said. "We do have the option to commercialise in the North American market, but that is not on our roadmap; not in our plans at all."
McIver noted that Cirrus did not have a Production Certificate nor manufacturing capacity to add the SR10 to the existing product line.
The project is reminiscent of the defunct Mooney M10T, which was also a three-seat low-wing aimed at the Chinese market, but was to have had a Continental diesel rather than a Rotax engine. Although a proof-of-concept flew, the M10T never made it to market.