Cirrus Design is scurrying to find a new avionics vendor and perform tests on a final seat design before clearing the last certification hurdles for its SR-20 business aircraft. The first customer deliveries are scheduled to start in December.
The Cirrus SR-20 received US Federal Aviation Administration type approval at the end of October, but could not obtain full instrument flight rules certification. This was largely because Trimble, which supplies the navigation and communication suite for the aircraft, surprised the industry with its decision to opt out of general aviation avionics.
"We're talking to Garmin, Bendix/King and the other main suppliers," says Cirrus Design president Alan Klapmeier, who admits the company, like much of the industry, was caught off guard by Trimble's move. Cirrus expects to select a replacement vendor "within two to three weeks" before incorporating the new equipment into the aircraft. "We'll then put it into a new package for the FAA [US Federal Aviation Administration] and conduct a very brief flight test," in time for the December delivery schedule, says Klapmeier.
"We also need to do more work on the seats," he adds. "We passed the certification with steel seats, but now we need to do it with aluminium parts." Like all other newly certificated aircraft in its class, the SR-20 requires energy absorbing seats to satisfy FAA Part 23 through Amendment 47 rules. "Other than that, everything else is done," adds Klapmeier, who does not foresee any protracted delays to first deliveries.
Other than finalising certification, Cirrus is now focusing on ramping up production at its Duluth manufacturing site in Minnesota. The initial rate is expected to be around two a month, quickly rising to 20 a month by the end of 1999. "We should deliver around 100 aircraft in 1999," says Klapmeier, who adds that firm orders stand at 210, including some taken at AOPA.
Source: Flight International
