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Cirrus planning lower-cost corporate jet
DULUTH, Minn., (UPI) -- Cirrus Design Corp., based in Minnesota, said its lower-cost alternative to the corporate jet should hit the market in about three years.
Just before a prototype of the Vision SF 50 flew over the Twin Cities Friday, the company touted the single-engine jet, expected to be priced at $1.5 million, as an alternative to the multimillion-dollar corporate jets that require a commercially licensed pilot.
Brent Wouters, the company's chief executive officer, told the Minneapolis Star-Tribune about 100 current Cirrus customers had been invited to Anoka County-Blaine Airport to watch the flyover.
Existing owners of Cirrus' piston-engine planes are expected to account for a large part of the business for the single-engine jet, Wouters told the newspaper, adding it could help the company expand into other markets, such as flight schools.
"The SF 50 is designed to be owner-flown, just like our other aircraft," Wouters said.
Some 430 potential customers made down payments of $100,000 each for the jet, expected to have a cruising speed of about 300 mph.
The Duluth company is expected to invest $80 million more for detailed design work on the plant's interior and to start a production line.
The company had cut its workforce in the past few years because of the economic downturn and reported losses in 2008 and last year, Wouters said. But he said sales have improved this year and are expected to total more than $200 million, from about $180 million last year.
DULUTH, Minn., (UPI) -- Cirrus Design Corp., based in Minnesota, said its lower-cost alternative to the corporate jet should hit the market in about three years.
Just before a prototype of the Vision SF 50 flew over the Twin Cities Friday, the company touted the single-engine jet, expected to be priced at $1.5 million, as an alternative to the multimillion-dollar corporate jets that require a commercially licensed pilot.
Brent Wouters, the company's chief executive officer, told the Minneapolis Star-Tribune about 100 current Cirrus customers had been invited to Anoka County-Blaine Airport to watch the flyover.
Existing owners of Cirrus' piston-engine planes are expected to account for a large part of the business for the single-engine jet, Wouters told the newspaper, adding it could help the company expand into other markets, such as flight schools.
"The SF 50 is designed to be owner-flown, just like our other aircraft," Wouters said.
Some 430 potential customers made down payments of $100,000 each for the jet, expected to have a cruising speed of about 300 mph.
The Duluth company is expected to invest $80 million more for detailed design work on the plant's interior and to start a production line.
The company had cut its workforce in the past few years because of the economic downturn and reported losses in 2008 and last year, Wouters said. But he said sales have improved this year and are expected to total more than $200 million, from about $180 million last year.
