EVOLUTION THROUGH REVOLUTION
Cirrus Vision Jet makes some improvements
Evolution was nothing new for Cirrus Aircraft. Since the company’s 1999 debut of its revolutionary, high-performance piston engine aircraft, the SR20, Cirrus has continued to wow the aviation market with generation after generation of meaningful improvements to its flagship SR-series family of aircraft. The company’s latest, “Gen 6” as they refer to it, has more in common with a Tesla sports car than a traditional Cessna 172.
The original version
Cirrus knew that a personal jet would especially appeal to pilot-owners of their own SR-series aircraft who aspire to step up to a jet but are unable to do so given the complexity and cost. The Cirrus Vision Jet may not fly as high or as fast as a twinengine jet but was as easy to fly as the company’s SR-series and priced at a modest premium.
The Cirrus Vision Jet was expected to perform well enough in all of the ways that mattered. It would be as easy to fly as the SR-Series. In fact, some say it is actually easier to fly. With a range of up to 1,200 nautical miles (nm), it promised to have a similar range as the SR-series although the Vision Jet would arrive approximately one-third sooner when operating at max performance.
The Vision Jet’s cabin was designed as a substantial upgrade compared to the SRseries. With room for five adults and two children compared to the SR-series’ four adults, the Vision Jet cabin feels roomy. Just as important, the Vision Jet’s seats are easily removable and reconfigurable to allow for the transportation of large personal effects and even cargo.
Early customers were not disappointed. Cirrus managed to deliver on all the promises of the Vision Jet and more.
While typical jets have twin-engines mounted on either side of the fuselage, the Vision Jet is powered by just one engine mounted on top of the fuselage. Use of a single engine substantially reduces acquisition costs, operation costs, and maintenance costs.
From a pilot’s perspective, many believe that a single engine even makes flying safer, counter to traditional wisdom that flying with two engines is safer than one. One engine is simpler to manage than two engines and history is full of grim stories of pilots who crashed while failing to adjust to flying on a single engine.
The engine that Cirrus chose for the Vision Jet, the Williams FJ33-5A turbofan, has a well-earned reputation for reliability.
By the end of 2018, not even two years after the first Vision Jet delivery, there were nearly 100 Vision Jets in service around the world and enough accolades to make a marketer proud.
The new and improved version
Early this year, Cirrus took the aviation community by surprise when the company announced the launch of the Cirrus Vision Jet Gen 2. Cirrus had clearly been giving some thought to answering the question, “How do you improve upon an awardwinning plane?”
The answer turned out to be quite straightforward.You make the aircraft fly faster, farther, and with less cabin noise. You upgrade the passenger cabin layout to feel more like a midsize private jet; and you make the jet even easier to pilot.
To start, Cirrus worked with Williams International to fine tune the engine so that the Vision Jet Gen 2 could reach a flight level of 310 (FL310), up from FL280. This, in turn, meant that the Gen 2 burns less fuel resulting in a 100 nm increase in range.
The Gen 2 can also reach 311 knots (ktas) at FL280. In some cases, the few knots of extra speed will result in substantial reductions in trip time because as the Vision Jet Gen 2 is better able to co-exist with other jets flying at the same flight level, the less likely that air traffic control will need to route Vision Jet Gen 2s around other traffic.
The pilot experience is substantially improved in the Vision Jet Gen 2, beginning with startup in cold conditions thanks to improved batteries. Once the engine is humming, pilots will appreciate the Cirrus Perspective+ avionics. The LCDs are crisper, processors faster, and displays more responsive. Moreover, pilots can wirelessly transmit flight plans from their smart phone or tablet, thereby saving substantial time programming the onboard avionics.
The Gen 2 Vision Jet now includes an auto throttle. This feature relieves pilots of having to manually make numerous changes to power throughout the various phases of flight. In fact, the auto throttle is smartly programmed so that it will even retard power at the appropriate time to ensure that the Vision Jet Gen 2 does not violate speed regulations below 10,000 feet.
Environmental improvements
Cirrus found a way to pack additional cabin insulation in the airframe, reducing the ambient cabin noise. While most passengers will likely opt to wear an aviation noisecancelling headset through which they can communicate over the intercom, it is certainly not imperative in the Gen 2.
Passengers will also appreciate the new executive jet-style seating option. Two sideby-side seats now include a center console from which spring tray tables, ideal for use with laptops during flight. When it’s time to relax, a drop-down LCD screen will entertain passengers.
Given the Gen 2’s performance and cabin improvements, it is not an exaggeration to say that Cirrus has upgraded the Vision Jet to a degree that it has evolved into a smaller version of an executive jet.
As the past 20 years have proven, evolution is inevitable at Cirrus Aircraft so we might see a Vision Jet Gen 3 in years ahead. In the meantime, the Cirrus Jet Gen 2 is another award worthy contender in the light jet market.