Cirrus rolls out SJX Personal Jet prototype - the “slowest, lowest, and cheapest jet”
02 Jul 2008
US aircraft manufacturer, the Cirrus Design Corporation, rolled out ''the Jet'' prototype on Thursday, almost a year to the day after unveiling a cabin mock-up to customers and the press. The aircraft will be made of a composite material.
In December 2006, Cirrus announced that the jet will be the "slowest, lowest, and cheapest jet available."
The company said it has begun engine and ground runs on the aircraft in anticipation of first flight, which could take place as early as this month. It will be powered by a single Williams FJ33-4A-19 engine, producing 1,900 pounds-force (8,500 N) of thrust and is expected to cruise at about 300 knots (560 km/h).
Certification is expected in the next few years.
While the aircraft manufacturer refers to the model as ''the Jet,'' the FAA registry identifies it as the SJX. The jet is not a competitor for very light jets like the Eclipse 500 and the Cessna Citation Mustang, but intended for personal use.
They are comparable to the Diamond Aircraft Industries D-Jet. Like all Cirrus aircraft the Jet too will have a parachute.
Although a final name and price have yet to be set for the personal jet, Cirrus claims it has orders for more than 460 of the aircraft, each backed by refundable $100,000 deposits.
Certification of the Cirrus jet is scheduled for late 2010.
Cirrus Design markets several versions of its two certified designs, the SR20 and the SR22. It also manufactures and markets the Light Sport Aircraft category Cirrus SR Sport.
The Jet project is a next-generation aircraft planned as a transition from the Cirrus SR22.
In all the Jet will seat seven people. The cockpit, the second and the third rows will all have two seats. There will be a seat that can slide between the second and third row. The Jet will also have two doors, and the parachute will be located in the nose.
Founded in 1984, the Duluth, Minnesota-headquartered company sold 58 per cent of its stock, for $100 million, to Crescent Capital, the US arm of the First Islamic Investment Bank of Bahrain in August 2001. The bank is now called called Arcapita.
