The era of personal jet aviation has been launched here in Northland.
Around 10 this morning, Cirrus Design's aircraft dubbed "The Jet" took flight.
The plane is Cirrus' first jet and as Joel Runck tells us, officials hope it will revolutionize the aviation industry.

For employees at Duluth-based Cirrus Design, today was nothing short of emotional as the "The Jet" went skyward.

"If you've had a baby, the first time you've set eyes on the baby is a lot like I feel when the first time we saw air under the tires," said Mike VanStaagen, Cirrus V.P. of advanced development, design.

Other employees agree.

"I've been scared, nervous, anxious, I cried-all kinds of things," said Steve Serfling, Cirrus V.P. of advanced development group programs.

But once the aircraft completed its inaugural flight, the anxiety turned to celebration.

"In terms of how I feel-I can't really describe this," said Alan Klapmeier, Cirrus CEO.

Officials say the seven-seater jet plane was put on Cirrus' business plan in 1994.
The company is known for its single engine propeller aircraft and for the past 18 months, "The Jet" prototype was being built for this day.

"We couldn't have pulled this off 20 years ago, but it is the same idea and that idea was a personal jet that was easy to operate," said Klapmeier.

Cirrus says this aircraft has a top speed of 300 knots, a range of approximately 1000 miles, and for about $1 million, this bird could be yours in the near future.

"In a world of declining time, I think we've built a time machine," said VanStaagen.

Cirrus says "The Jet" will be available for purchase in 2011 and expects to produce about 100 of the planes that year.
Tim Berg, Cirrus Design chief test pilot took to the controls this morning and says everything happened without a hitch.

"The airplane flew great on a beautiful day and we're thankful that it was a nice event," Berg said.

The aircraft reached an altitude of 10,000 feet and Cirrus says they're goal is to make flying more user-friendly with simplified avionics and easy handling.

"We don't have to change this image of pilot to superman," said Klapmeier. " We should all be pilots. This isn't a big deal. You can drive a car, you can fly an airplane, what else do you want to do today?"

The future for "The Jet" involve extensive testing and certification, but for now, Cirrus employees just want to remember this day as it goes down in the history books.

"I've been at Cirrus 13 years and this is by far the most exciting day in my career," said Serfing.

Cirrus says more than 400 position holders have each put down 100-thousand dollar deposits for "The Jet."