Elixir Aircraft, the 4th Generation, Type 23 certified, aircraft manufacturer is delighted to announce a successful week of training, with its first North American client Cirrus Aviation. The training took place at the Elixir headquarters in La Rochelle, France.

Renowned professional Flight Training Organization and Certified FAA Maintenance Center based in Sarasota, Florida, the Cirrus Aviation team traveled to La Rochelle in force for a week of flight testing and maintenance training.

CEO and Founder of Cirrus Aviation, David Cattin said: “We have been closely following the evolution of the Elixir. The versatility, safety and extremely low operating cost of this new 4th Generation aircraft is going to be a great training tool and investment for our FAA Part 141 Flight Training. It is for these very reasons we decided to place an initial order for two aircraft at EAA Airventure Oshkosh in 2022.”

A successful training week for our first north american client cirrus aviation

The Cirrus Aviation team that visited La Rochelle consisted of five people, including Management, Pilots and Maintenance. The three full days consisted of 20 hours of test flights, and numerous hours of training on all maintenance aspects including 100, annual, 1000 hour checks, along with manufacturer recommendations.

“The full experience was very professional, extremely informative. It gave us great insight and confidence in the Elixir as a versatile training aircraft, with huge savings in maintenance time and cost,” said David Cattin.

It is due to this time spent at Elixir Aircraft with the whole team, that Cirrus Aviation has confirmed its commitment to order ten aircraft, two new aircraft to be delivered per year for the next five years, the first two being delivered to Sarasota later this year.

Cyril Champenois, CSO, Elixir Aircraft explains: “This time with the Cirrus Aviation team was invaluable. We learnt the pains a flight school faces when operating a sizeable fleet of aircraft flying 1200 hours each per year. Given the ease of maintenance on the Elixir and low cost of mogas fuel, the Elixir will be a game changer for Cirrus Aviation. They will be able to fly more hours due to the Elixirs reduced time in the shop, and inject more to the bottom line”.

About Elixir Aircraft

Elixir Aircraft a company headquartered in La Rochelle, France, with close to 100 employees, was created in 2015 to meet the challenges of global light aviation. The objective of the French company: to make safer, more economical and more versatile aircraft. Complexity is the reason why current aircraft suffer from failures (technical or human), and are expensive to operate (consumption and maintenance). Elixir Aircraft employs a technology from the world of competitive sailing, the Carbon Oneshot, to simplify the structures. More simplicity means less failure, therefore more safety, but also less maintenance, and less costs (estimates of 50$/h of fuel and maintenance). At the end of 2021, Elixir Aircraft opened a new production site in Périgny, Charente Maritime, to internalize the entire production of carbon parts.

About Cirrus Aviation

Cirrus Aviation, Inc. is an FAA Part 141 Flight School located in Sarasota, FL. It was founded in 1994 by former military aviator David Cattin, who remains its President today. The vision guiding the organization has always incorporated the latest technology to better educate and create the aviators of tomorrow. The company offers training for people from many backgrounds including veterans using the GI Bill, university students through the Liberty University Flight Training Affiliates program, international students on approved Visa’s, and the local domestic market learning to fly for fun or for future careers. Cirrus Aviation has a mixed fleet of a dozen Cessna’s and Pipers, as well as two ALSIM Simulators. It employs about 40 people consisting of flight instructors, mechanics, administrators, and dispatchers. It produces about 150 licenses annually, with increased projections. Its transatlantic presence allows it to work with both the FAA and EASA, as well as discover products from abroad and introduce them to the domestic market.

Source: Elixir Aircraft Press Release
Image: Elixir Aircraft

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