Alan Klapmeier introduces Cirrus Design’s latest offering: the SRS. Cirrus plans to offer the SRS to the light-sport aircraft market in the very near future. Photo by Dave Higdon

Less than a month after Cirrus Design Corporation unveiled its "the-jet," the company pulled the parachute off another new product on AirVenture’s opening day: the Cirrus SRS light-sport aircraft (LSA), the Duluth manufacturer’s planned entry into the burgeoning LSA market.

Cirrus began with an existing design—based on the Fk14 Polaris, a current design of German manufacturer Fk Lightplanes—and plans to "Cirrus-ize" it.

"We didn’t have time to design an LSA," said Alan Klapmeier, Cirrus chairman and CEO. "But it is something we’ve been looking at—how do we have lower-cost airplanes. In this case we’ve decided we’re going to introduce an LSA. It’s just not going to be one we designed."

The SRS conforms to the European microlight standards but not (yet) the ASTM standards for LSA. Some of the alterations Klapmeier shared include changing the current hand-operated brakes to toe brakes, and changing the current nose wheel to the same castering-type of the SR20 and SR22 sport. Access to the cockpit will be improved with the addition of a step.

Like other Cirrus models, the SRS is made of composite materials and includes a standard BRS full airframe parachute. It is powered by a 100-hp Rotax 912S engine and has removable wings.

Another required change is to reduce the current top speed of the Fk14 to the S-LSA requirement of 120 knots.

"For our engineers this is the first time we’ve ever had to make an airplane go slower," Klapmeier said. "Obviously that is an easier problem than making it go faster."

The Fk14 is currently manufactured in Krosno, Poland. As part of the partnership with Fk, Cirrus will share its production know-how, though major component manufacturing is expected to remain in Europe. Final assembly likely will occur in the United States.

Avionics were not announced, but Klapmeier emphasized it would be a glass-panel system. Cirrus will conduct some Part 23-like tests, such as fatigue tests, but the airplane will be "certified" to ASTM LSA standards.

Production dates and pricing were not disclosed, but Klapmeier said planes should be available in about a year and should be competitively priced, in the $100,000 range. Service and support will be available through Cirrus’ network of authorized service centers. Financing and insurance programs are also planned.

You can see the concept SRS on display at the Cirrus Pavilion in the Main Aircraft Display area.

In another surprise announcement Monday, Cirrus co-founder Dale Klapmeier told the crowd that Cirrus SRS Serial No. 1 would be donated to the EAA Young Eagles program and will be auctioned off at Thursday night’s Gathering of Eagles fundraiser.

"When Alan and I were growing up we used to ride our bicycles past the airport to see what neat airplanes came in that day," he explained. "Kids don’t line up at the [airport] fence any more. We believe very strongly in the [Young Eagles] program at Cirrus, and we believe this is the type of airplane that can get kids back to the fence and dreaming."

EAA President Tom Poberezny thanked Cirrus for the overwhelming donation. "Cirrus’ mission and EAA’s mission are the same—build the aviation community and get people involved," he said. "The contribution of this airplane will go a long way toward achieving that."

The idea behind the LSA revolution, Poberezny added, is lowering the barriers of time and money for those wanting to become pilots, noting the decline in the pilot population from more than 800,000 in the 1980s to less than 600,000 today. "General aviation simply cannot sustain itself with 600,000 pilots," he said.

"Dale and Alan are living examples of not only their dream, but EAA’s dream."