Cirrus Aircraft officials announced that first quarter results confirm strong market preference for the new Generation 5 Cirrus Aircraft. The company delivered 51 aircraft in the first quarter of 2013, up 14% compared to the same period in 2012. The overall piston-powered aircraft market has shown about a 4% increase from 2012.
1Q2013 GAMA Results: Cirrus maintains strong delivery pace and leads category market share.
The General Aviation Manufacturers Association (GAMA) released the industry's first quarter shipment and billings summary earlier this month.
"We are very pleased to see a shift to the positive for the GA airplanes, which extends across all airplane segments" says Pete Bunce, GAMA's president and CEO.
"Cirrus Aircraft customers are showing an enthusiasm for our new airplanes, especially Generation 5, that we have not seen in quite a while," says Patrick Waddick, president and COO of Cirrus Aircraft. "We are still early in the year, but the initial market response validates our commitment to innovation and to offering Cirrus owners and operators the most value of any aircraft available today."
Cirrus delivers 51 SR-series airplanes to individual customers and continues export market fleet deliveries.
With production line changes necessary for the new design, initial deliveries of Generation 5 aircraft commenced in February 2013. Delivery results in the first quarter were impressive, supported by a strong backlog of sales orders that carried over from late 2012. Cirrus also continued training aircraft deliveries to China's largest aviation university, Civil Aviation Flight University of China (CAFUC) in Luoyang, China.
"We are enjoying the strongest demand we've seen over the past five years and certainly since the global financial crisis that has affected aviation so significantly," states Todd Simmons, Cirrus Aircraft executive vice president of sales, marketing & customer support. "Stronger financial markets and economic stability are certainly helping but it's the fifth generation Cirrus that is really propelling demand right now. Our order backlog is several months out. It seems that more and more conversations are about new airplanes, how an airplane can help grow a business, and of course, flying adventures."
Generation 5 is the name given to the airframe change required to achieve the step-change improvement for the 2013 SR22/SR22T. The entire aircraft design was analyzed from spinner-to-tail and many parts and systems reengineered and redesigned to accommodate the increased airframe load, aerodynamic improvements, improved flight performance, and the Cirrus Airframe Parachute System (CAPS.) Substantial testing, including a new series of CAPS parachute test drops, was conducted for validation. Significant changes for 2013 have been made to the CAPS system including an increased canopy size, a new rocket extraction system that propels the parachute upon activation, an advanced technology electrical rocket igniter and lighter and stronger construction materials. Other airframe upgrades included strengthening the carbon fiber, single part wing spar, the landing gear and a new flap system allowing extension to the first position at 150 knots.
This redesigned 2013 SR22/SR22T, the fifth generation of Cirrus aircraft, add a load carrying exclamation point to recent Cirrus innovations including: Cirrus Perspective avionics by Garmin; Cirrus Known Ice Protection; Perspective Global Connect satellite communications; 60/40 FlexSeating; and the totally unique Cirrus Airframe Parachute System (CAPS). The SR22/SR22T has been the best selling GA aircraft now for over a decade.