Cirrus Jet Resumes Flying, Some Deposits Returned

As Cirrus Aircraft’s prototype Vision jet single resumes flight testing with a new Garmin G1000 avionics suite, some buyers seeking refunds of deposits for the jet have experienced delays in obtaining their refunds. “We are returning deposits,” Cirrus CEO Brent Wouters told AIN, although some deposits have taken longer than the 45 days specified in the Vision purchase agreement. “We’ve called all the customers,” he said, “and given them a date for when we will return them.” A depositor who contacted AIN said that while his refund took more than 45 days, it was returned in full. According to Wouters, the number of gross cancellations is 8 percent of Vision orders, and total orders remain above 400 aircraft as new sales have replaced some refund requests. Cirrus recently announced an increase in production of its SR-series single-engine piston airplanes. Although Cirrus is planning to pay for jet development with the deposit funds and cash flow from SR sales, “We have some people pretty interested in helping us finance the jet program if we should decide that we need it,” Wouters said.