In the Works: Cirrus Vision SJ50

Shortly after the first flight of Cirrus Design’s single-engine jet, the company finally revealed the name for what had long been referred to as “The Jet,” now called the Vision SJ50. The first flight took place on July 3. Eclipse and Cirrus have taken different philosophical tacks for their single-engine jets, with Eclipse offering an airplane that will fly faster at a higher altitude (41,000 feet) than Cirrus, which sees a safety benefit in a 25,000-foot maximum altitude. Another interesting difference is that the Eclipse 400 seats a maximum of four people, while the Vision SJ50 can seat seven and features the airframe parachute system common to all Cirrus aircraft.