Cirrus Breaks Ground on Vision Center

Cirrus Aircraft broke ground on its $15 million, 11-acre “Vision Center” in Knoxville, Tenn. on Thursday. The company announced plans in May to build a national customer center for all Cirrus aircraft, including the Vision SF50 single-engine jet, at Knoxville McGhee Tyson Airport, promising to create 170 jobs there.

According to Cirrus, the Knoxville facility will be “a flagship location for all Cirrus Aircraft pilot, owner and customer activities” and include a design center where buyers can customize their SF50s, a service center, sales and product support staff, an FBO and type-rating training in a level-D full-motion simulator built by CAE. It will also host company social events.

The new facility will open in the second quarter of next year with a $2 million, 15,000-sq-ft hangar; other buildings will be added later. The hangar is described as an interim facility for use while the main center is under construction. All Cirrus aircraft production remains at Duluth, Minn., and Grand Forks, N.D., and SF50 certification remains targeted for year-end.