It’s a two-edged sword being the market leader. No matter what you do, or how innovative you are, some people still want more. You can’t please all the people all the time. In aviation this would be a recipe for disaster. It’s important to distinguish commentary that came from Cirrus owners, or buyers, from the plethora of one hour as a student pilot keyboard warriors and haters.
The connection to genuine buyers is something that Cirrus has done successfully for nearly a quarter of a century, keeping the SR22 as the world’s most popular general aviation (GA) aircraft. Cirrus pleases most of its target group, most of the time. That’s definitely not by accident.
There were several items high on G7 wish lists. Some were small improvements, and others giant leaps forward. They included: a Vision-Jet-like cockpit, pressurisation, turbine or Jet A1 engines, FADEC, better cup holders and more storage.
Regarding a Jet A1 burning engine, there are two important points. First, Cirrus, via the Executive Director of the SR Product Line, Ivy McIver’s recent Zoom interview with the British and German aviation journalists has now acknowledged publicly the demand for an alternative to AVGAS engine, and that Cirrus are working on a solution.
Secondly, many of the competitors who went early with Jet A1 burning, diesel engines have had serious issues with them. Cirrus has stayed number one because it only does things when it can do them well, and importantly, better than anyone else.
McIver says, “It’s a difficult
