This is a Better Way A Cirrus Aircraft’s Airframe Parachute System Saves Lives
**** Hidden Message ***** EXECUTIVE GOLFER 3534 EXECUTIVE GOLFERCIRRUS
Pictured is Mountain Air’s 2,875-foot long, paved runway at 4,400 feet above sea level with a Cirrus two-story white tent and parked demo planes.
determined to build the safest airplane in the world. Dale and Alan are cofounders of Cirrus.
Today, Cirrus is based in Duluth, Minnesota, with 1,200 employees working in 400,000 square feet of man-ufacturing space and 120 service centers worldwide.
They delivered nine planes in 1999 and will deliver over 700 this year.
To date, Cirrus has delivered over 2,500 aircraft log-ging over one-million flight hours to become the safest and best selling airplane in the world.
They coordinated and inspired their staff of engi-neers and designers to come up with their vision of a dream machine. Their effort eventually led to the devel-opment of Cirrus SR20 and SR22, with the Airframe Parachute System, spin-resist-ant cuffed wings, and airbag restraint seatbelts—as stan-dard safety features.
If Alan and the pilot that rammed him mid-air, had both had the Airframe Parachute System, they would have safe-ly descended to earth by para-chute and landed seated inside their planes. Possibly in a bit of shock, but safe.
In the past four years, seven
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pilots have deployed the parachute, saving 14 lives.
The cost of a Cirrus SR20 (200 horsepower) starts at $234,000 and a Cirrus SR22 starts at $334,000. The base price is $199,000. You can chose the aircraft that best fits your needs.
A MEMORABLE WEEKEND AT MOUNTAIN AIR
The Cirrus aircraft showcase was presented by Executive Golfer over the Memorial Day weekend at Mountain Air: a private, mountaintop, luxury golf community in Burnsville, North Carolina, 45 minutes from Asheville.
Mountain Air is perched almost 5,000 feet above sea level on top of Slickrock Mountain with its own 2,875
A Cirrus SR22 taking off from
Mountain Air’s scenic airport.
foot long, paved airplane runway at 4,400 feet above sea level. A full service pilot’s room is provided nearby to accommodate about 115 pilots who are Mountain Air resident members.
“As a private runway,” said Mountain Air CEO Randy Banks, “it requires prior permis-sion to land. It’s the highest airport east of the Mississippi.
“Cirrus has added a lot of excitement and glamour to our Memorial Day week-end and created a great deal of interest and talk about their unique safety fea-tures among our pilots,” said Banks.
Cirrus set up an attractive two story, white star tent adjacent to four of their demo planes with six emissaries. Over 50 Mountain Air residents experienced 45-minute demo flights—SATSair— Smart Air Travel Solutions, an air taxi service, set up a tent near the clubhouse with two emissaries.
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CIRRUS
A HOLE-IN-ONE WINS A $450,000 CIRRUS
The most popular diversion of the weekend was an opportunity for ten players to win a $450,000 Cirrus by shooting a hole-in-one on the par-3, 14th hole.
A Cirrus Shootout tournament on Saturday drew 180 players. The Magnificent 10 were the ten closest to the hole winners on the par 3, 14th hole. They were invited to return to the 14th hole on Sunday and go for it.
In the event of a tie, there would be a playoff. A gallery of about 60 showed up to watch.
Unfortunately, none shot the hole-in-one.
The gallery was aghast—none hit the green!
GUESS THE NUMBER OF STITCHES INA CIRRUS PARACHUTE
SATSair, Smart Air Travel Solutions, offered 10 hours of free air taxi service, valued at $5,950, to the one who came closest to guessing the number of stitches in a Cirrus
(Above) Bryan Griffin (kneeling), ties down a Cirrus as his mother Leslie, his sister Jill and his dad Frank prepare to leave the runway. Star and Warren Fletcher pack important luggage (golf clubs) into their Cirrus SR22.
parachute. Mountain Air members and guests
were provided the following chute specifica-
tions: 235 yards of fabric, 1,075 yards of cord, 560
yards of webbing, and 150 yards of nylon tape.
The lowest guess was 7,700, the highest was
705 million. The actual number of stitches was
743,302 and the winner was Rob Peterson with
a guess of 750,000 stitches.
SATSair will take you where you want to go,
when you want to go, in the comfort of a new
Cirrus SR22 aircraft with the Airframe
Parachute System.
SATSair provides a flat rate of $595 per hour
CIRRUS
The ten Mountain Air members and guests who qualified for the Cirrus Shootout and a chance to win a $450,000 SR22 plane. The pressure showed...not one shot hit the green.
wheels up to wheels down. Their convenient and cost-efficient service has no standby charges, no lines, no con-nections, and no cancellation penalties—and pick up is on demand.
GO TO THE PLANT, PICK YOUR PLANE, AND FLY HOME
“About 85 percent of our customers pick up their plane in person at our factory and fly it home,” said President and COO David Coleal. “Our Cirrus will change the way you live because it’s so easy to fly and is so enjoyable.
“We’re the best selling plane in the world for four rea-sons: (1) Safety. Cirrus is the only aircraft to offer a para-chute; it has a bonded roll cage and the seats are energy absorbing; (2) Comfort. It’s roomy for four passengers, easy to get into, easy to load luggage and has big win-dows; (3) Performance. The airframe is built of fiberglass to offer superior aerodynamics and greatly enhanced fatigue resistance. Its ground speed is 220 mph and aver-ages 11 miles to the gallon, the same as a Chevy Tahoe; and (4) Value. You get a lot more aircraft for your dollar,” said Coleal.
HOW IT CHANGED THE FLETCHER’S LIFE
Warren and Star Fletcher, Mountain Air members since 1998, bought their Cirrus in 2004, “and it changed my life,” said Warren Fletcher. “I live in Tampa and my moth-er lives in Clewiston, located in South Florida’s Everglades. A one-way drive is three and one-half hours in light traffic. My Cirrus gets me there in 45 minutes. I now spend an extra six hours with her and return home the same day.
“Warren wrote a simple instruction sheet for me on what to do in an emergency and how to activate the para-chute,” Star joshed and pumped her arm up and down to simulate a parachute release. “I feel very comfortable because of that parachute,” she said triumphantly.
Warren, who has a commercial pilot’s license and instrument rating, is president of Americas of SSA Global Technologies. “I’ve been flying for eleven years in a Piper Arrow,” said Warren, “and switched to Cirrus because it is faster and more capable. The glass naviga-tion panel is the most modern in the industry and having 120 service centers around the country is important to me. Cirrus is in a class by itself.
A CIRRUS IS IDIOT PROOF
Frank, 50, and Leslie Griffin, 49, have two children: Bryan, 18 and Jill, 15, and own a family real estate com-pany in Tampa. They are developing a yen for flying. Bryan has always loved hang-gliding and ballon flying. His enthusiasm rubbed off on his dad, Frank, and both are taking flying lessons with 20 hours of flight time under their belts. They expect to earn their pilot’s license this summer.
“We shopped Cessna, Piper and Cirrus,” said Frank. “I find the Cirrus to be a perfect fit for the four of us, our two cats, and two sets of golf clubs. The instrument panel is oriented toward the pilot.
“I’m comfortable in a Cirrus and that parachute makes it idiot proof!” declared Leslie. .
For more information please contact Mark Darling, Cirrus Design Corporation, 4515 Taylor Circle, Duluth, Minnesota 55811; phone (866) 333-3834; or visit: cirrusdesign.com.
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