Matt Thurber, editor-in-chief at AIN Media Group, has been flying since 1975 and writing about aviation since 1978 and now has the best job in the world, running editorial operations for Aviation International News, Business Jet Traveler, and FutureFlight.aero. In addition to working as an A&amp;P mechanic on everything from Piper Cubs to turboprops, Matt taught flying at his father’s flight school in Plymouth, Mass., in the early 1980s, flew for an aircraft owner/pilot, and for two summer seasons hunted swordfish near the George’s Banks off the East Coast from a Piper Super Cub. An ATP certificated fixed-wing pilot and CFII and commercial helicopter pilot, Matt is type-rated in the Citation 500 and Gulfstream V/550. Based in the Pacific Northwest, Matt and his team cover the entire aviation scene including business aircraft, helicopters, avionics, safety, manufacturing, charter, fractionals, technology, air transport, advanced air mobility, defense, and other subjects of interest to AIN, BJT, and FutureFlight readers.

Editor-in-Chief

Matt Thurber

Alan Klapmeier, chairman of Cirrus Aircraft, has formed a team to raise funds to try to buy the Vision SF50 single-engine personal-very-light-jet program from Arcapita Bank, the majority owner of Cirrus. “I feel comfortable that we can do this,” said Klapmeier. “Obviously it’s a difficult time to be raising capital, but that means more focus on funding better projects.” Although Cirrus has refunded about 8 percent of Vision deposits, according to president and CEO Brent Wouters, the jet program “is absolutely still under way.” There are deposits for more than 400 Visions, he told AIN. 
Klapmeier’s effort is currently operating under the name Aegis, but that may change. Until he raises the necessary funds and completes a transaction with Arcapita, the jet, he said, “is still a Cirrus program and Cirrus continues to fund it and make progress.”
If his bid is successful, Klapmeier and his team will need to build a new facility to house the Vision jet program or possibly negotiate a manufacturing agreement with Cirrus, which is highly experienced in building composite airframes. “Addressing that question will be part of a final deal,” Klapmeier said. “There are a lot of advantages to staying connected. It’s not a requirement, but it’s a benefit that needs to be considered.”
The fundamental issue that prompted Klapmeier to pursue taking over the Vision program is that if the program remains with Cirrus, further delays will be inevitable. The original funding plan was to rely on a combination of internal Cirrus money and external capital, he explained. “As situations change, the market for new aircraft [has deteriorated] and Cirrus has had to make lots of tough choices recently. The board obviously has to look at what our other options are for getting the jet done. I think all parties would agree–Cirrus, Arcapita, certainly our team–that this is really about getting the jet done.”
Commenting on Klapmeier’s announcement, Wouters reaffirmed Cirrus’s commitment to the Vision jet. There are 120 people focused on the program, he said, now working on detail design of structure, systems and tooling. “Today we’re cash-flowing it and devoting every bit of our R&amp;D resources, both cash and otherwise, to the jet,” he said. “We’re making good progress. But we’ve always thought the program might need some outside capital, [which] would allow us to do things a little more efficiently, a little faster. Our expectation is that we will continue to do it internally and that we’ll move forward accordingly.”
Wouters acknowledged that Klapmeier “did approach the Cirrus board and express a desire to maybe acquire the program, and in an effort to make sure we were looking at every dark corner of the world for capital, we said, sure, we don’t know what will come of it, we’ll see what he can come up with. Alan has a unique capability to get people interested in this, and he’s got a proposal; we’re happy to hear it.”&nbsp;&nbsp; &nbsp;

Klapmeier team vying to buy Cirrus program

Alan Klapmeier, chairman of Cirrus Aircraft, has formed a team to raise funds to try to buy the Vision SF50 single-engine personal-very-light-jet program f

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