Cirrus Aircraft has started production of the Vision SF50 single-engine jet at its facility in Duluth, Minnesota. In an exclusive video interview with AVweb at the plant earlier this week, Matt Bergwall, project manager for the jet, said limited production will be done through 2015 in advance of certification by the end of the year. He said there’s no question the aircraft will be approved by the FAA and the company wants aircraft available for delivery when that happens. “It’s only a question of when,” he said. “We’re on the one yard line.”
The composite pressure vessel and other components are made in Cirrus’s Grand Forks, North Dakota, plant and assembly will take place in Duluth. Meanwhile, the flight test department has three conforming test aircraft in the air most days and the company will announce final numbers for the aircraft in the next 90 days. Cirrus has 550 orders for the jet but the first one will belong to the company. The first delivery customer has not been disclosed.
We visited the plant in Duluth. Click here for the video.
