minnesota - Midwest Flyer

VERY LIGHT JETS
Epic’s New Victory Jet Flies!
BEND, ORE. – A mere 28 weeks
after design work began, the “Epic
Victory Jet” made its maiden flight on
July 6 from Redmond, Oregon.
“Quick response from the Seattle
MIDO and Portland FSDO allowed us
to get this jet flying on our schedule,”
said Epic CEO Rick Schrameck.
The all-carbon-composite Victory
Jet uses a single Williams International
FJ-33-4A to climb to FL280 in just 10
minutes. Even with full fuel, the
Victory offers more than 900 lbs of
payload, easily accommodating 4-5
passengers and their luggage. The max
cruise for this Very Light Jet is in
excess of 320 KTAS. The Victory Jet
features an all-Garmin glass cockpit.
Epic promises to deliver at least
six of the new jets to customers
before the end of 2007, each with a
price tag of less than one million dollars
(www.EpicAircraft.com). ❑
Cirrus Design Unveils Personal Jet
DULUTH, MINN. – True to its word,
Cirrus Design Corporation fulfilled its
promise to a select group of customers
by giving them the world's
first look at what has been labeled
“the-jet” – the most anticipated aircraft
in the company’s history. Each
guest had placed a $100,000 nonrefundable
deposit for their first “personal”
jet.
The company’s tight control of the
project was evidenced even further by
the fact that its own employees who
were not directly working on the
project were not able to see “the-jet”
until hours before the depositors’
showing June 27. The rest of the
world witnessed the same dramatic
unveiling at a special event held at the
company’s Duluth, Minnesota headquarters
the following day, and again
at EAA AirVenture-Oshkosh, July 23.
“We’re calling it a ‘personal jet,’
not because of its size, but because
it's a natural extension of our SR22
line,” said Cirrus co-founder and
CEO Alan Klapmeier. “Like the SR22,
‘the-jet’ is designed to be owner flown
and it will be loaded with innovative
features, including the Cirrus Airframe
Parachute System (tm). While it’s
technologically advanced, it’s designed
to be exceptionally easy to fly, offering
customers the opportunity to grow into
yet another lifestyle change with
Cirrus.”
Co-founder and Vice Chairman
Dale Klapmeier commented, “We are
still in the early design and development
phase and didn’t want to limit
ourselves in any way. It is also important
that any data we released
was absolutely accurate.” There are
many more details to be announced,
and information will be released as
they are finalized. “So far we can
confirm that ‘the-jet’ will be powered
by a quiet, efficient and lightweight
William’s jet engine that will give the
aircraft great utility, economy and
simplicity never before seen in this
market,” Klapmeier concluded.
Vice President of Advanced
Development Mike Van Staagen
added, “The information we’re trying
to protect during the past years of
product development was the unusual
amount of versatility and flexibility
that has been incorporated into an airplane
of this size. This flexibility
is even more surprising given this airplane
is designed specifically for
a single owner/operator. The design is
precisely configured to maximize
flexibility for the owner. Mountain
bikes, camping equipment, golf
clubs, skis, bigger families, antique
spinning wheel? No problem!
‘The-jet’ will deliver more value
because its cavernous interior
accommodates very diverse usage,
and while doing this all at about 300
kts.”
For additional information on
CIRRUS and its products, visit
www.CIRRUSdesign.com ❑
OCTOBER/NOVEMBER 2007 MIDWEST FLYER MAGAZINE 43