A Brief History of the Various Cirrus Aircraft Product Releases

The first Cirrus Aircraft was certified and sold in 1999. Since then, the company has always been aggressive at improving and upgrading the aircraft, unlike any other aircraft manufacturer previously. Here we have complied a brief history of most of the major milestones that bring us to where we are today with the latest generation of Cirrus Aircraft.

1999

The FAA certifies the Cirrus SR20. The aircraft came equipped with an STec 20 or 30 autopilot,an Arnav MFD and a Century HSI.

2001

The FAA certifies the SR22 equipped with the same avionics as the SR20 only now with the STec 55X autopilot adding the ability to preselect an alititude using a remote display.

2002

Cirrus introduces the Avidyne MFD, a major improvement over the Arnav unit previously used. The TKS anti icing system is introduced, but not approved for flight into known ice. SkyWatch active traffic information system is added and the EMAX engine monitoring system is introduced.

2003

The Avidyne primary flight display is added, making the SR22 the first all glass 4 seat general aviation aircraft. The remote altitude select feature is rendered useless by the PFD and is removed. Cirrus adds the 6 point engine mount which greatly reduces vibration. Many owners of earlier Cirrus aircraft upgrade their engine mounts to the 6 point mount.

2004

The Generation 2 (G2) Cirrus is introduced with major changes and improvements to the airframe, resulting in a lower empty weight. The interior is improved and the slam lock door is added. The firewall is beveled at the bottom for improved crashworthiness. Air Conditioning becomes available as a service center installed STC. Teledyne Continental introduces the Platinum engine which is balanced and thus smoother running and offers an extended warranty. CMAX chart displays on the MFD are added along with TWAS terrain awareness and XM satalite weather.

2005

The XM satalite radio entertainment system is offered. Seatbelt airbags are added and a flight director added to the primary flight display.

2006

Factory installed airconditioning is offered and is a great improvement over the after market air. The Sterling paint scheme was an option and ended the all white Cirrus era. 406Mhz transponders were installed and the Tornado Alley, turbo normalized option was offered. All turbo aircraft were delivered with a composite propeller. The option was available on normally aspirated aircraft.

2007

The generation three (G3) aircraft was unvieled and brought with it several major airframe improvements and interior cosmetic improvements. A newly designed wing with more dihedral and a stonger and lighter, carbon fiber spar was used. The new wing increased fuel capacity to 92 gallons on the SR22. With the G3 design, now the SR20's ans SR22's shared the exact same airframe. Increased stability with the increased dihedral allowed the rudder / aileron interconnect to be removed. An improved design for the wheel pants gave a bettter look and made maintenance a bit easier. G3 planes have their landing gear a little closer together adding a bit to the prop clearance. Wingtip recognition lights were add and Cirrus now offered the X-edition two tone paint schemes in several color choices. All aircraft began being delivered with WAAS capable GPS units. Factory installed oxygen systems were offered.

2008

2008 saw the introduction of the Perspective by Garmin avionics system that included a digital autopilot with yaw damper, larger 12 inch screens with synthetic vision, keypad data entry and dual AHARS units. Nightvision EVS camers were offered as an option.

2009

The first FIKI (flight into known iceing) aircraft were delivered. The option to add a second air data computer was also offered. Cirrus offers an X-Edition option that adds significant interior upgrades and more elaborate graphic schemes on the exterior.

2010

The X-Edition option is taken a step further with the Xi (the i being for individualized). Xi aircraft are custom, one off versions with the interior and paint scheme designed by the owner. A new turbo charged engine, the IO-550-K by Teledyne Continental is installed in the SR22 and the SR22T is born. This engine is a great improvement over the pervious turbo normalized version, much more powerful, smoother and quieter. Along with the introduction of the engine, the nose wheel assembly is changed, adding an oleo strut hidden in the cowling. The cowl itself is redesigned on SR22T's and now has improved air induction and filtering. Cirrus ESP, is introduced. ESP when enabled prevents the pilot from over banking or over pitching by nudging the controls in the opposite direction. It also monitors the pilot when at high altitude and auto decends if it detects an incapacitated pilot. Revision 9.0 of the Persective software adds autopilot stall recognition and autopilot coupled missed approach go arounds.

2011

In 2011 Cirrus announced plans to build and sell 10 limited edition commemorative aircraft. This is the aircraft in the photo on this page.

Where do we go from here?

Who knows! One thing we do know is that this company is not comfortable sitting still. You can certainly expect more of the same with more product improvements and innovations. Cirrus will continue to lead the way in light, general aviation aircraft. We look forward to final certification of the Cirrus Jet in the near future.