Cirrus Aircraft
The Cirrus Design Corporation, doing business as Cirrus Aircraft (formally Cirrus Design), is an aircraft manufacturer that was founded in 1984 by Alan and Dale Klapmeier to produce the VK-30 kit aircraft, and is headquartered in Duluth, Minnesota, United States. The company is owned by a subsidiary of the Chinese government-owned Aviation Industry Corporation of China (AVIC), with operational locations in seven states across the US including Minnesota, North Dakota, Tennessee (where its customer headquarters are based), Texas, Arizona, Florida and Michigan, as well as additional sales locations in France and the Netherlands.
Logo since 2015 | |
| Cirrus Aircraft | |
| Formerly | Cirrus Design (1984–2009) |
| Company type | Subsidiary |
| Industry | Aerospace |
| Founded | 1984 in Baraboo, Wisconsin, United States |
| Founders | Alan & Dale Klapmeier |
| Headquarters | , United States |
Area served | Worldwide |
Key people | Zean Nielsen (CEO) Patrick Waddick (president, innovation & operations, Duluth division) Todd Simmons (president, customer experience, Knoxville division) George Letten (executive vice president & CFO) Ken Harness (senior vice president, product development) Ben Kowalski (senior vice president, sales & marketing) Dale Klapmeier (senior advisor) |
| Products | Light aircraft |
| Owner | China Aviation Industry General Aircraft (CAIGA) |
Number of employees | 2,500 (September 2023) |
| Parent | Aviation Industry Corporation of China (AVIC) |
| Subsidiaries | Flying Colors Aviation, Inc. |
| Website | www |
Cirrus markets several versions of its three certificated single-engine light aircraft models: the SR20 (certified in 1998), SR22 (certified in 2000), and SR22T (certified in 2010). As of April 2023, the company had delivered more than 9,000 SR-aircraft in over 20 years of production, and has been the world's largest producer of piston-powered aircraft since 2013.
Sales of the SR-series grew rapidly during the 2000s, until the economic crisis of 2008. Cirrus was planning to market a light-sport aircraft called the SR Sport, but suspended the project in 2009, due to financial challenges and a lack of market demand. This has since been cancelled. After a return to company growth and United States-based expansion in the 2010s, Cirrus certified and began deliveries of the Vision SF50 very light jet in 2016. Upon its delivery, the aircraft became the first civilian single-engined jet to enter the market, and is often referred to as a "personal jet".
The company produces all of its aircraft with composite materials and is known for pioneering new technologies in the light general aviation aircraft manufacturing industry, including glass cockpits and full-airframe ballistic parachutes.
In 2001, Cirrus sold a majority of the company to Bahrain-based Arcapita. Ten years later, the manufacturer was acquired by China Aviation Industry General Aircraft (CAIGA), which is a division of the state-owned AVIC.