Cirrus has been flying a Vision jet since 2008, but the first copy of the final production version flew for the first time on March 24. The jet is one of three conforming flight-test aircraft that will complete the flight-test regime, with deliveries expected to start late next year. Cirrus chief test pilot Mike Stevens flew the jet for an hour after takeoff from Duluth (Minn.) International Airport, and said it “handled and performed very well and all systems functioned properly, just what you want in a first flight.” The SF50 is a seven-seat, pressurized, single-engine jet, with a price of $1.96 million. Cirrus CEO Dale Klapmeier said the company has 500 reservations for the aircraft.
The FAA has promised to publish a draft set of rules later this year for integrating unmanned aerial systems into the national airspace, but as the technology develops, the pressure to allow commercial use of the aircraft has stepped up. The FAA lost a round in March when an NTSB judge overruled the FAA’s effort to slap a drone operator with a $10,000 fine for commercial operations. The NTSB judge said the FAA’s statements regarding drone use and limitations couldn’t be enforced because they hadn’t followed the full public rulemaking process. The FAA appealed that decision.
