Cirrus Aircraft has announced that the SF50 Vision jet has received its FAA type certificate, which clears the way for customer deliveries to begin
The company made the announcement at a function in the lead-up to the National Business Aviation Association (NBAA) convention in Florida this week.
“What an amazing and impactful day for Cirrus Aircraft and the entire aviation and aerospace industry,” said Cirrus Aircraft co-founder and CEO Dale Klapmeier.
“Just as the SR series of high-performance piston aircraft has forever changed aviation, the impact of the Vision Jet on personal and regional transportation is going to be even more profound. Never before has a turbine aircraft solution come along that rewrites the rules in so many ways – iconic design, ease of operation, smart economics, simplified ownership and more.”
Cirrus first announced the jet project in 2006 and took initial deposits of $US100K to hold production slots. The aircraft design was a unique solution to the single-engine jet issue, using a dorsal-mounted William FJ33 turbofan with the jet outflow directed between V-tail stabilisers.
The SF50 was described early on as the "lowest, slowest and cheapest" jet project; designed chiefly as a step-up aircraft for Cirrus pilots wanting to upgrade from the SR22.
Like most projects born from the very light jet (VLJ) mania of the mid 2000s, the SF50 hit hard times when the company struggled to find cash for further development, and the project slowed gradually until customers could not be given a target date for certification.
The cash flow issue was resolved in April 2012, when China Aviation Industry General Aircraft bought the company and recommitted it to the SF50.
Despite a target of late 2015 for certification, the first production version of the jet did not fly until May 2016.
The SF50 has a maximum speed of 300 knots and an operating altitude of FL280. It seats six with an option for a seventh person and has Garmin Perspective avionics.