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News & Media Delivery center opening demands a party

Delivery center opening demands a party

January 13, 2017 By Thomas B Haines

Cirrus Aircraft threw a grand party Jan. 12 for the grand opening of its Vision Center in Knoxville, Tennessee.

  • Cirrus guests gather in the service center—and no, that shiny P-51 Mustang is not a new model under development by the composite aircraft manufacturer. Photos by Chris Rose.
  • Spotlights among the crowd highlight the new SF50 Vision Jet in the back corner of Cirrus Aircraft’s new delivery center as the band plays on.
  • Guests admire the smooth composite skin of the Vision Jet. Cirrus has delivered three of the single-engine jets to retail customers so far.
  • Todd Simmons, Cirrus president of customer experience, greets the crowd gathered in the new Knoxville delivery center.
  • Dale Klapmeier, Cirrus co-founder and chairman, thanks Knoxville city officials for their support in building the new delivery and service center at McGhee Tyson Airport.
  • The Cirrus Factory Service Center at Knoxville’s McGhee Tyson Airport opened last year, and includes a paint booth.
  • A third building, the training center, will join the service center (left) and delivery center (right) at the Cirrus Knoxville campus.
  • Cirrus 2017 piston deliveries have already begun from the new Tennessee delivery center. Jet deliveries will continue from Duluth for a few months, but will eventually migrate to Knoxville as well.

A band, aerial silk act, and a backdrop of airplanes greeted customers, vendors, Cirrus employees, and Knoxville city officials in the new delivery center at McGhee Tyson Airport. The campus so far includes a service center and the delivery center. Offices for sales, marketing, and other customer-facing services are housed in a nearby office building. Groundbreaking for a training center will occur in the next few weeks. Assembly of the piston and jet airframes will continue in Duluth, Minnesota.

Thomas B. Haines

Thomas B Haines

Contributor (former Editor in Chief)
Contributor and former AOPA Editor in Chief Tom Haines joined AOPA in 1988. He owns and flies a Beechcraft A36 Bonanza. Since soloing at 16 and earning a private pilot certificate at 17, he has flown more than 100 models of general aviation airplanes.
Go to Thomas B Haines's Profile
Topics: Aviation Industry

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