Cirrus Soars at First Flight Celebration.

To download high-resolution, print-ready JPEG images, click on the thumbnail image above.

WARNING: these images are

very large (800K+)

Click here for caption

Business Editors/Photo Editors

NOTE TO MEDIA: Multimedia assets available

A photo is available at URL:

http://www.businesswire.com/cgi-bin/photo.cgi?pw.080103/bb2

OSHKOSH, Wis.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Aug. 1, 2003

National Park Service Announces New Technology of Flight Exhibit;

State of North Carolina Names Cirrus Official Aircraft

As the aviation industry gears up for the most significant celebration in the history of flight, The First Flight Centennial Celebration, Dec. 12 - 17, 2003, the National Park Service and Cirrus Design join forces to enhance the celebration. The First Flight Centennial and the National Park Service, Outer Banks Group announced today an exciting new addition to this historic event called the "Technology of Flight" exhibit created by Cirrus Design. The "Technology of Flight" exhibit is a mobile museum that features visual, tactile and textual information regarding advancements in aviation beginning with early fabric-covered aircraft to today's advanced composite aircraft with "glass cockpits."

Lisbeth Evans of the North Carolina Department of Cultural Resources announced the new exhibit at AirVenture 2003 in Oshkosh, WI. She then went on to announce the naming of the Cirrus SR22 airplane as the "Official Aircraft of the First Flight Centennial Celebration."

Proudly displaying the National Park Service's familiar logo, the Cirrus Centennial Edition aircraft was presented to representatives from the First Flight Centennial, National Park Service, North Carolina Department of Cultural Resources (NCDCR) and Department of Transportation's (DOT) Division of Aviation by Cirrus Co-Founder and CEO Alan Klapmeier.

Speaking to the upcoming First Flight Celebration, Stephen W. Merritt, aviation officer for the NCDOT, Division of Aviation, points out, "The technology made possible by the Wright brothers' experimentation changed our world. Today's advanced-technology personal aircraft, aptly represented by the Cirrus SR22, represents the advancement in aviation as we look forward to the next 100 years. "These innovations represent the type of spectacular human achievement we are celebrating at the First Flight Centennial Celebration."

Thousands of people, including an anticipated trip by President George W. Bush, will visit the Wright Brothers Memorial this December and tour the new Technology of Flight exhibit that will become a permanent addition to the national park near Kitty Hawk.

Visitors to the new exhibit will be able to see a technology-based cockpit not available in other personal aircraft. Cirrus is the first fleet of personal aircraft to feature, as standard equipment, an all "glass cockpit" -- advanced avionics that fundamentally change the way pilots obtain and process information.

In addition to the exhibit, a Cirrus SR22 will begin service in the near future with the National Park Service to help "protect national park resources and provide safety patrols for the Outer Banks Group parks," according to Park Superintendent Lawrence A. Belli.

"As our official aircraft for the Centennial," adds Evans, "Cirrus represents the advanced technology necessary to make flying more accessible to a broader audience of pilots. No other aircraft manufacturer is more ideally suited to develop the Technology of Flight exhibit than Cirrus. We are confident that aviation enthusiasts young and old will enjoy the presentation and the ability to climb into the state-of-the-art cockpit." Additionally Evans named Cirrus the "Official Aircraft of the First Flight Centennial Celebration."

As the Cirrus SR22 aircraft today carves its own historic path in the First Flight Celebration, its founder reflects on the contribution the plane has already made to aviation history. In October 2002, a Dallas pilot became the first person during an in-flight emergency to safely land by deploying the ballistic parachute in his Cirrus SR22, also a standard feature on all Cirrus aircraft. The Cirrus Airframe Parachute System that saved the pilot's life was the vision of Cirrus Co-Founders Alan and Dale Klapmeier who began Cirrus Design with a mission of making flying safer and easier.

"As we step with both feet into the next century, Cirrus could not be more proud to make a contribution to this historic and remarkable celebration," says Klapmeier. "My brother and I began Cirrus with a singular vision to take flying to the next generation of personal aircraft. As all aircraft designers and manufacturers continue to make advancements in personal aviation, we will continue to look back to the vision of early pioneers for inspiration. They helped get us where we are today; it's up to us to take aviation to the next generation."

About Cirrus

Cirrus Design manufactures and markets personal aviation composite four-seat aircraft, incorporating advanced technologies that result in high levels of performance, safety and comfort. Cirrus Design Corporation (www.cirrusdesign.com) is based in Duluth, Minnesota, with an additional facility in Grand Forks, North Dakota.

Note: A photo is available at URL:

http://www.businesswire.com/cgi-bin/photo.cgi?pw.080103/bb2