page_title: Cirrus Aircraft
section_title: 2000s
hierarchical_section_title: Cirrus Aircraft / History / 2000s
caption_attribution_description: English: B&amp;F FK14 Le Mans at ParaRudniki 2012 Polski: B&amp;F FK14 Le Mans na ParaRudniki 2012. I Targi Lotnictwa Lekkiego
context_page_description: The Cirrus Design Corporation, doing business as Cirrus Aircraft, is an aircraft manufacturer that was founded in 1984 by Alan and Dale Klapmeier to produce the VK-30 kit aircraft. The company is owned by a subsidiary of the Chinese government-owned AVIC, and is headquartered in Duluth, Minnesota, United States, with additional operational locations in Grand Forks, North Dakota, Knoxville, Tennessee, and McKinney, Texas. Cirrus markets several versions of its three certificated single-engine light aircraft models: the SR20, SR22, and SR22T. As of April 2018, the company had delivered over 7,000 SR-aircraft in nearly 19 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 in the 2010s, Cirrus certified and began deliveries of the Vision SF50 very light jet in 2016.
context_section_description: In June 2000, the company received an FAA Production Certificate for its SR20 aircraft. In November the same year, Cirrus received a type certificate for its next model, the Cirrus SR22, which began deliveries in 2001.
  In August 2001, Cirrus sold 58% of the company for $100 million to Crescent Capital, the U.S. arm of the First Islamic Investment Bank of Bahrain (now called Arcapita).
  In July 2002, the company announced that it would collaborate with the University of North Dakota Aerospace Foundation to provide a new Cirrus Customer Training program. In February the following year, Cirrus delivered the industry's first-ever all glass cockpit light aircraft, sparking a major transition in general aviation, whereby over 90% of all new light aircraft by the year 2006 were equipped with glass cockpits.
  In June 2004, Cirrus received type certification for the SR20 from the European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA). That same year, Cirrus accomplished record-breaking sales, up 69% over the previous year. The SR22 became the world's best-selling general aviation aircraft.
  Cirrus entered the civilian flight-training fleet market with SR20 deliveries to Sweden's Lund University in January 2005, followed by Western Michigan University in September of that year.
  In 2006, the company delivered 721 aircraft (its most in a single year to date), celebrating the 3,000th SR-series airplane off the production line only seven years after deliveries commenced. That summer, Cirrus acquired a 25-percent stake in SATSair, a 2004 start-up air taxi operator that flew 26 SR22s. SATSair ceased operations on 24 October 2009.
  On 28 June 2007 the Cirrus Vision SF50 single-engine light jet was unveiled (then known simply as "The-Jet"). At the 2007 EAA AirVenture Oshkosh airshow, the company unveiled the Cirrus SRS light sport aircraft. A version of the B&F Fk14 Polaris, the type never entered production for Cirrus. In December 2007 Arcapita stated that it was looking to sell its share of the company. Cirrus Aircraft indicated at the time of the announcement that this was expected as Arcapita was considered a medium-term investor.
  The Jet took its first flight in July 2008. In September 2008, the global sale slump in piston-engined aircraft impacted the company and it laid off 100 workers, or 8% of its workforce. This included 79 people at the main plant in Duluth, Minnesota and 29 employees at the composite construction plant in Grand Forks, North Dakota. After this round of lay-offs Cirrus had 1,230 employees remaining. Company COO Brent Wouters stated that the lay-offs were due to "not selling as many airplanes as we'd hoped to this year."
  Company CEO Alan Klapmeier announced in October 2008 that due to the economic situation and resulting lack of demand for Cirrus aircraft, the company was moving to a three-day work week. He reported that sales were down 10% over the same period in the previous year. Compared to the industry average in that same period sales were down 16%. Klapmeier also indicated that introduction of the SRS would be delayed until 2009, due to lack of demand in the light-sport aircraft market sector, but that the Cirrus Vision SF50 jet would not be delayed.
  Cirrus eliminated 208 employee positions in the fall of 2008 and cut aircraft production from 14 to 12 aircraft per week in response to the economic situation. In November 2008, the company announced that it would lay-off about 500 production employees for one month to allow for reductions in excess stock of aircraft produced.
  Cirrus started recalling its workers on 5 January 2009 after the month-long shutdown. The furloughed workers were called back slowly over the month, to ramp up production to eight aircraft per week, compared to a company capacity of 16 aircraft per week. The company indicated at that time that it would retain the ability to reduce its workforce quickly as the economic situation and sales numbers dictate.
  On 9 January 2009, Cirrus announced that it would lay off 50 administrative employees and extend the layoff period for 100 of the 500 employees laid off ov
caption: Cirrus SRS light-sport aircraft (Fk14 Polaris)
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