Tue, Nov 04, 2003
61 Birds SOLD In October!
A cautiously optimistic
Alan Klapmeier, the boss at Cirrus Design, revealed to ANN that
October's sales figures set another record, the fourth in as many
months, for the "not-so-little (anymore) company that COULD."
All in all, 61 SRVs, SR20s and SR22s were sold to buyers who
have come to appreciate a trend-setting airplane that has
apparently lead the rest of the industry to adopt extensive use of
EFIS systems, advanced technologies and aggressive
price/performance specs. After announcing that it was adopting an
ALL-EFIS production doctrine last July, while also introducing an
entry-level, high-performance VFR version of the SR series for less
than $190K; market response has been even better than expected with
four months of steadily improving sales. The October record was
somewhat surprising, though, after a number of economic/tax
incentives started expiring at the end of September (though
others still remain in effect).
"We think that today's airplane buyer is learning that they can
demand a lot of performance for less money than they had to spend,
in the past. It's not the easiest path we could have chosen, but we
remain committed to making sure that we're putting as much airplane
in our customer's hands, for the dollar, as we can. The last four
months suggests that we're doing the right thing," says
Klapmeier.
Alan also noted hope for continued success in the future, now
that there appears to be some easing in the insurance
cost/availability situation, with some 1100 airplanes now in
circulation and aggressive pilot training programs in place by both
Cirrus Design and the Cirrus Owners and Pilot's Association (COPA).
"We're working hard to show the insurance industry how safely our
airplanes can be flown... and I think we're starting to get through
to them."
The message seems to gaining a foothold throughout the industry
with recent announcements by several manufacturers of adoption of
either the Avidyne or recently introduced Garmin G1000 GA EFIS
system for their aircraft. These developments have been reinforced
by aggressive new pricing scenarios by Cessna (for the
G1000-equipped C182) and Diamond Aircraft (for the G1000
equipped DA40).
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