Matt Thurber, editor-in-chief at AIN Media Group, has been flying since 1975 and writing about aviation since 1978 and now has the best job in the world, running editorial operations for Aviation International News, Business Jet Traveler, and FutureFlight.aero. In addition to working as an A&amp;P mechanic on everything from Piper Cubs to turboprops, Matt taught flying at his father’s flight school in Plymouth, Mass., in the early 1980s, flew for an aircraft owner/pilot, and for two summer seasons hunted swordfish near the George’s Banks off the East Coast from a Piper Super Cub. An ATP certificated fixed-wing pilot and CFII and commercial helicopter pilot, Matt is type-rated in the Citation 500 and Gulfstream V/550. Based in the Pacific Northwest, Matt and his team cover the entire aviation scene including business aircraft, helicopters, avionics, safety, manufacturing, charter, fractionals, technology, air transport, advanced air mobility, defense, and other subjects of interest to AIN, BJT, and FutureFlight readers.

Editor-in-Chief

Matt Thurber

As Cirrus Aircraft nears FAA certification of its Vision SF50, the first modern civil single-engine jet, the company is highlighting a growing presence in Europe. Here in Geneva, Cirrus is displaying SR22 piston single. The U.S. manufacturer also makes a turbocharged SR22T version and the SR20.

 


In February, it introduced the new 2016 SR models, featuring improved connectivity and cabin design that the company compared to luxury automobiles.

 


FAA certification and delivery of the first Vision SF50 jet is scheduled to occur before the end of June. Cirrus has a backlog of 550 orders for the $1.96 million (2012 dollars) all-composite jet. Pilot training has already begun for Cirrus employees, and CAE is in the final stages of preparing the Vision Level D full-motion simulator for the type-rating program. Simulator training will take place at the Cirrus Vision Center, which is under construction at McGhee Tyson Airport in Knoxville, Tennessee. The center will include two buildings, one a factory service center and the second a customer center, which will house the simulator, delivery center and sales and marketing offices.

 


For customers, Vision training will begin about six months before scheduled delivery, starting with online training and culminating in the simulator and with the type-rating check ride. Cirrus will also offer pilot mentors to help new owners transition to operating the jet. “We will be working closely with customers to provide the solutions they need,” said Vision SF50 project manager Matt Bergwall.

 


The training program will be run by Cirrus, because most jet buyers have owned or currently own a Cirrus piston single. “We decided since most are owner-flown, we know our customers best and want to control that experience and set them up for success,” he explained. The initial type rating program should take about 10 days, possibly less for pilots with turbine experience.

 


FIKI Approval Expected

 


The three Vision SF50 flight test jets have flown more than 1,000 hours, and Bergwall expects that number to reach about 1,500 by the time of certification. Remaining tasks in the certification program include FAA testing, natural ice testing and some function and reliability testing. The plan is to have flight-into-known-icing approval completed by the time of certification, he said, “so customers can utilize the full [capability] of the jet.” The new aircraft can fly as high as 28,000 feet and as fast as 300 knots, while needing less than 2,500 feet to take off over a 50-foot obstacle.

 


Bergwall has flown the Vision jet about 10 hours, and said he has learned during that time how easy it is to fly for current Cirrus SR pilots. “For customers who have been flying the SR, I think they’re going to find the Vision quite a logical step up,” he said, “including where the controls are, how it feels, and the same familiarity of the SR. It will make the transition hopefully easier. It’s a really simplified cockpit. And the nice thing about a clean-sheet design is that we can really think about, ‘Do I need this knob there?’ We can figure out what’s really needed.”

 


The Vision has a true sidestick for flight control, and this will be new for SR pilots used to the piston model’s side-mounted yoke. Bergwall said that flying the Vision jet still feels very similar to the SR, even with the new sidestick. Despite no previous turbine engine experience, he said after an hour he felt comfortable in the jet. Takeoffs, although likely using more runway than the SR, “feel like you are getting off quicker and accelerating faster,” he said. “It’s weird when pushing in the throttle to hear a jet engine.”

 


One control that is the same on both the SR and the jet is the fully castering nosewheel, which should make SR pilots feel at home. The jet also is equipped with a ballistic parachute system, which sets the Cirrus airplanes apart from most competitors. The jet’s Garmin-based Perspective Touch avionics suite is also familiar to owners of many SRs, as are the built-in envelope protections that help prevent loss-of-control. Unlike the SR series, the Vision jet features an angle-of-attack indicator, plus a stick shaker and pusher system. It also is equipped with three touchscreen avionics controllers, which aren’t available in the SR.

 


Cirrus currently builds about 300 SR piston single-engine airplanes per year. Once the Vision jet is fully ramped up, Bergwall said, it should reach a rate of more than 100 per year. “We’re very excited to get it into [owners’] hands,” he said. “We are at the finish line, talking to the first customers about how excited they are and how some have been with us since 2007.

 


“I truly think that this airplane is going to help enhance this industry and bring people in who never thought they would be part of it. It feels like we’re creating a new category. Our owners are savvy individuals, and they have figured out that even though this is the slowest jet out there, it’s still quite a bit faster than their current airplane. I think with this airplane, with its low price point, we’re hoping it will bring people into aviation who might not think of personal travel as attainable.

 


“The Vision jet will be the solution for many of them. And it will encourage them to learn to fly. We’re hoping that the jet brings that to the next level, and will [attract] people who may not have [considered buying a Cirrus] because it had a prop in front.”

 


To date, around 10 percent of orders for the vision have come from Europe. Cirrus intends to build on its existing sales and support network in the continent with partner distributors established in almost 20 countries. The company’s regional director for Europe, Adam Hahn, is based in the UK.

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