Cirrus Aircraft Wins Collier Trophy for SF50 Vision Jet

Cirrus Aircraft was recently named the recipient of the National Aeronautic Association’s (NAA) 2017 Robert J. Collier Trophy for its SF50 Vision single-engine jet. The NAA cited the Duluth, Minnesota–based company’s efforts in “designing, certifying, and entering into service the Vision Jet—the world’s first single-engine general aviation personal jet aircraft with a whole-airframe parachute system.”

The Collier Trophy is awarded annually “for the greatest achievement in aeronautics or astronautics in America, with respect to improving the performance, efficiency, and safety of air or space vehicles, the value of which has been thoroughly demonstrated by actual use during the preceding year.”

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Other Collier nominees included the NASA Joint Propulsion Laboratory Cassini project team; F-35 Integrated Test Force team; Aurora Flight Sciences and the U.S. Marine Corps Office of Naval Research for their tests in 2017 of the Autonomous Aerial Cargo Utility System; Boeing 737 Max; Perlan Project; Vanilla Aircraft for its long-endurance VA001 UAV; and Zee Aero’s eVTOLs.

“At Cirrus, we are honored and humbled to be awarded the 2017 Collier Trophy and to even be mentioned among the giants in aviation and space research that have won before us,” said Dale Klapmeier, Cirrus Aircraft cofounder and CEO. “The arrival of the Vision Jet has forever changed general aviation and personal transportation, and the 2017 Collier Trophy is dedicated to all of our employees and partners who have been a part of the development, production, and now delivery of this airplane.”

The Collier Trophy will be presented at the annual Robert J. Collier Trophy Dinner on June 14.