Cirrus Design Corporation has announced a record sales month upon closing the books in October. For the first time in company history, says Cirrus, sales of the SR20 and SR22 exceeded 60 aircraft for a single month. The running sales total for the previous four months is 222 aircraft sold in 120 days.

Cirrus claims the performance is the result of the 24-person strong field team completing an excess of 500 customer demonstration flights per month.

“Each milestone has been sweet. Our first 40 plane month, 50 plane month and now 62 aeroplanes sold

in one month” stated John M. Bingham, executive vice president sales and marketing.

“We’ve expanded the sales force to meet demand and David Coleal [chief operating officer] has assembled a manufacturing operation capable of producing two production-certified aircraft everyday.”

Cirrus believes that the growth of the company is a positive sign for all general aviation. “We’re breathing new life into an industry whose growth was projected to be flat for a decade,” adds Bingham.

“The increasing level of advertising, promotion and demonstration flights show that the industry is alive and well and is attracting a new generation of pilots to personal aviation.”

Cirrus delivered the first and second production model Cirrus SR22 aircraft in early 2001. A derivative of the Cirrus SR20, with a 310-hp Teledyne Continental IO-550-N engine, the SR22 cruises at 180 knots at 75 per cent power, climbs at 1,400 feet per minute at sea level, has a long-range cruise of more than 1,000 nautical miles and a useful load of 1,150 pounds.