Cirrus Aircraft announced yesterday that it has secured funding to complete the composite single-engine Vision SF50 jet from company owner China Aviation Industry General Aircraft (Caiga). Development of the single-engine Vision jet slowed during the recession. When Caiga purchased Cirrus for an estimated $210 million last June, the company said that development of the Vision jet would continue.
Williams FJ33
July 29, 2011 - 8:20am
Cirrus president and CEO Brent Wouters revealed during the EAA AirVenture Oshkosh show this week that the company’s prototype SF50 Vision jet is in “commodity jurisdiction” at Williams International. The Williams FJ33 engine that powers the Vision jet may be subject to U.S. government concerns about exporting technology to China.
April 22, 2010 - 11:40am
The FAA has approved two sets of special conditions for certification of Cirrus Aircraft’s Vision single-engine jet, an indication that the company has made efforts to pave the way for eventual FAA approval of the aircraft. According to the FAA, Cirrus applied for type certification of the Vision SF50 on Sept. 8, 2008. The special conditions cover mounting of the engine in the aft fuselage and the jet’s Fadec engine control system.
November 24, 2009 - 10:21am
The world’s first production and certified very light jet, the Morane Saulnier MS760 Paris Jet, has a new lease on life. In October, JetSet Aviation Holdings, a subsidiary of JetSet International, announced that it had purchased the MS760 type certificate and intellectual property from France’s Socata, successor to Morane Saulnier, and that 32 MS760s are available for upgrade and purchase.
October 1, 2009 - 11:22am
Citing a combination of specific business challenges, market conditions and capital scarcity, the three leading single-engine VLJ contenders–Cirrus, Diamond and Piper–have either implicitly or explicitly moved their development and delivery schedules decidedly to the right.
June 29, 2009 - 8:37am
Dr. Sam Williams, founder and chairman of Williams International, died June 22 at
December 4, 2008 - 10:58am
Duluth, Minn.-based Cirrus Design yesterday said it continues to refine the design of its SJ50 Vision single-engine jet and released more detailed preliminary performance and specifications numbers.
October 31, 2008 - 6:15am
Diamond D-Jet S/N 003 made its first flight on October 5 with the upgraded Williams International FJ33-5A engine. S/N 003 is now in the final configuration for certification, with the new engine, new engine inlets and fairings, aerodynamic changes and production winglets. The new engine will be derated to match the power output of the previous FJ33-15, but Diamond plans to offer a higher-thrust D-Jet later in the program.
October 6, 2008 - 2:23pm
On Sunday, Diamond Aircraft (Booth No. 4707) flew its D-Jet for the first time with the new Williams International FJ33-5A engine (formerly designated FJ33-19), the production powerplant for the single-engine personal jet.
October 6, 2008 - 11:54am
On Sunday, Diamond Aircraft flew its D-Jet for the first time with the new Williams International FJ33-5A engine (formerly designated FJ33-19), the production powerplant for the single-engine personal jet. D-Jet S/N 003–the first production-conforming copy of the airplane now that the -5A has been installed–was flown by chief test pilot Daniel Ribeiro and flight test engineer Gerard Struthers.
