Story ID: 
Cirrus Opens Training, Innovation Centers
By: Matt Thurber
Caption: Cirrus Aircraft's growing business has lead to expansion of its flight training, management, and engineering capabilities.
Word Count: 218
Cirrus Aircraft is expanding its services business with a new flight training facility at Scottsdale Airport in Arizona, where it will offer pilot training and full-service aircraft management starting in October. The company also opened two Cirrus Aircraft Innovation Centers—in Chandler, Arizona, and McKinney, Texas.

The innovation centers support the new product development team that is “responsible for advancing new technologies and designs for innovative product introductions,” according to Cirrus. The Chandler center focuses on avionics, electrical, and software, while all engineering disciplines are supported at the McKinney facility.

Scottsdale joins Cirrus's other training centers in Knoxville, Tennessee, which offers SR series and Vision Jet type rating training, and McKinney, which provides training and aircraft management services, as well as Dallas Fort Worth.

“The Chandler and McKinney Innovation Centers add significant capabilities and further extend our capacity to fuel our ambitious product innovation plans,” said Pat Waddick, Cirrus's president of innovation and operations. “Additionally, our expansion efforts not only attract new talent to Cirrus Aircraft in great locations but generate jobs and economic growth within the local markets.”

Cirrus is recruiting new employees to support the expansion and at all of its other facilities, including Knoxville and the Duluth, Minnesota, and Grand Forks, North Dakota manufacturing centers.