cirrus

Cirrus Begins Plane Production Again

Filed under: Wings

It's nice to see a little good news in the aviation sector. Cirrus Design has announced the restart of its assembly lines, putting most of the employees that were laid off a month ago back to work today. The company will still be producing light sport aircraft at a reduced rate, about eight planes a week, to keep pace with current demand. Some of the several hundred workers laid off last fall may also be called back in as production increases. Suppliers of the various components in Cirrus planes are also rejoicing in the good news. Northstar Aerospace, a manufacturer of Cirrus components plans to restore 20 percent of its work force now and may ramp that up to 30 or 40 percent over the next couple months. Eclipse Aviation ,which is still restructuring after filing Chapter 11 may also resume production in February.

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Tags: cirrus, cirrus design, CirrusDesign, light sport aircraft, LightSportAircraft, planes

Cirrus Design Slows Down Plane Production

by Deidre Woollard (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Wings

From out of Minnesota comes a sign that the light sport aircraft market is faltering. Recently Cirrus Design CEO Alan Klapmeier told the Duluth News Tribune that the company has reduced its work week to three days from four due to a decrease in demand for their planes. The slowing market also means a delay for the introduction of the Cirrus SRS LSA. It will now come out in 2010 instead of 2009. The company is still working on the Cirrus Vision SJ50 personal five- to seven-seat jet. So far the company has received more than 400 orders for the jet, each with a $100,000 deposit. Cirrus laid off 100 staff in Duluth and at its parts plant in Grand Forks, N.D. back in September but still employs about 1,280 people. Business is off about 10% at Cirrus so far but Klapmeier is hopeful that an accelerated depreciation measure passed by Congress earlier this year might stimulate fourth quarter airline sales. If sales don't pick up, however, Cirrus plans to keep the three day a week production schedule for the rest of the year. The small planes are a favorite with those who fly for pleasure including celebrities like Angelina Jolie but these days flying simply for the sheer joy of it is a luxury many feel they can't afford.

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Tags: cirrus, duluth, planes

Cirrus Vision Jet

by Deidre Woollard (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Wings

The Jet by Cirrus Design, now officially named "The Vision SJ50" is a luxurious small aircraft is designed to be flown by a single pilot. The Cirrus Vision hopes to blend the best of both the high performance single-engine class and the very light jet category. The plane is powered by a Williams International FJ33-4A-19 engine and will fly at about 300 knots at a maximum operating altitude of 25,000 feet.

The body is spherical to allow for more interior space and it has moveable seats to accommodate up to seven people. The plane has a unique V-Tail design and state-of-the-art advanced avionics and flight systems plus the Cirrus Airframe Parachute System. The Cirrus Vision SJ50 had its first flight last week (Aero News Network has a report of the event with action photos). The 45-minute flight was conducted from company worldwide headquarters at the Duluth International Airport, Duluth, MN.

Gallery: Cirrus Vision

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Tags: cirrus, cirrus vision, CirrusVision, jet, vision jet

Imagine Air, A New Air Taxi For The South

by Deidre Woollard (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Wings

The Southeast has a new air taxi service. Imagine Air flies Cirrus SR22s out of Georgia to over 600 airports in the Southeast. Flight costs are based on scheduled mileage and there are no penalties for last minute bookings. They also sell pre-paid flight cards: Platinum for $50,000 that guarantees 20% off all flight, Gold for $20,000 that gives 15% off all flights, Silver for $8,000 with 10% off all flights and Bronze for $3,000 that offers 5% off all flights. You are charged only for the mileage in which you occupy the aircraft and every time you fly, the flight cost is deducted from your FlightCard balance. They also have a leaseback program if you are interested in plane ownership.The company plans to add Eclipse 500 planes in 2008.

[via General Aviation News]

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Tags: air taxi, charter, cirrus, flights, imagine air, ImagineAir

Cirrus Vodka

by Deidre Woollard (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Spirits

My favorite cocktail blogger, The Liquid Muse, reported on yet another new vodka. This one is Cirrus, a triple distilled potato vodka that the Muse gives high marks to for creaminess and smoothness. The vodka is bottled at 80 proof and has won a gold medal from the San Francisco World Spirits Competition as well as other awards. Their website is not up yet but an article published last summer gives some background on the product. Paul McCann and Chris Kardian of Richmond, Virginia are the founders of Parched Group which makes the vodka. Cirrus sells for $22 per bottle and is available in the Virginia area.

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Tags: alcohol, cirrus, spirits, vodka

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