Cirrus SR 20
In a recent business trip to New York (unfortunately, aborted by a dental emergency -- don't ask), I tried to schedule a preliminary visit by air. I found that even though I am checked out in 2 C172 SP's with G1000's, neither of them was available for an operation requiring that I keep it overnight and return it the next day. I think the problem is that 172's fly so often for training that you have to reserve them really far in advance to get them for a substantial period.
Anyway, being aware that my local FBO has only 2 172's (only one with G1000) now, because they no longer have the 182 that was my favorite, plus larger airplanes they use for charter operations, I knew I could get no relief from that direction. The larger FBO at Bay Bridge Airport has so many airplanes that I just asked the instructor who had checked me out in their 172 SP if they had other airplanes with very similar avionics, and he suggested the Cirrus SR 20.
So a few weeks ago I had an "avionics intro" to the SR 20 where an instructor parked the airplane close to a hangar where it could be plugged in and we could demonstrate the avionics. The "perspective" system in the Cirrus is essentially like the G1000 in the sense it has a PFD and MFD with almost all the features in common (software by the same company, Garmin). There's an additional keypad for typing in frequencies, which is easier than scrolling through all the letters when you know you want a "z". The keypad is alphabetic -- not a standard "qwerty" layout, but I figure I'll get used to that pretty easily. The autopilot is totally different but maybe easier, since it's integrated, taking its target altitude and altimeter setting off the PFD display so there are less redundant things to set. I decided to check out.
Cirrus has a rather elaborate syllabus that takes you through a somewhat regimented checkout process, but of course how onerous that is depends on how ready the instructor is to customize it to the individual student. In the case of Bay Bridge Airport it seems the instructor is quite willing to customize, both because I have a good facility with the G1000 and also because our first lesson happened on a day with favorable weather for flight and I pointed out that even though the syllabus said the first lesson was ground only, it would be a shame to waste a good day.
So, last Friday, I did steep turns, stalls, and normal takeoffs and landings. The SR 20 is different from airplanes I've flown before. It's essentially all composite (in fact, the POH says the factory needs to approve colors and brands before an owner can have his airplane repainted because the material could be damaged by solar radiation without sufficient protection). While it has fixed gear, its modern aerodynamics allows it to fly at Piper Arrow speeds or even a little more even with the streamlined gear hanging out. (I use the Arrow as a comparison because the SR 20's engine is the same size, 200 hp). Its controls are odd, a "side stick" emerging from the fuselage interior, so that the pilot flies with his left hand and the instructor with his right. (With a conventional yoke, both pilots can fly with the same hand.) The stick is extremely responsive with a very fast roll rate and somewhat slower pitch rate that's still impressive compared to other airplanes I've flown. However, those favorable features come at a price -- higher forces in pitch if you don't use the very fast, almost hyper 2-axis electric trim very often. Also, ground handling is somewhat clumsy because steering at low speeds is only by differential braking; the nosewheel casters. On landing, the fast pitch response can cause a tail strike if you flare too much or too quickly.
Safety features are unusual but reassuring: a ballistic recovery system, although it isn't rated up to VNE for this heavy, fast airplane, airbags integrated into the 4-point seatbelts, plus synthetic vision technology (SVT) for the PFD that's so good it gives you an image of the runway numbers in the screen as you pass over them in reality. But the big deal is terrain that's shown in what looks almost like 3-D on the screen. Of course there's also the XM weather and collision avoidance features I've praised before in using the G1000 in other airplanes.
While the SR 20 cruises at speeds in the mid 130's without much effort, it is handicapped compared, say, to a 182, by rather long takeoff and landing distances. At Easton that wouldn't matter but Bay Bridge is about 2700 feet long, and the SR 20 needs about 2500 in zero wind. That means you'd better land in the right direction if the wind favors one direction even a very little!
It appears the SR 20 offers some useful features compared to traditional, all-metal aircraft of the kind that were around when I was learning to fly. While I don't like it as much as a Bonanza, we need to keep that in perspective (pun not intended) -- a Bonanza costs on the order of $900,000, and for that price you can have 2, or even maybe 3 SR 20's.
Anyway, being aware that my local FBO has only 2 172's (only one with G1000) now, because they no longer have the 182 that was my favorite, plus larger airplanes they use for charter operations, I knew I could get no relief from that direction. The larger FBO at Bay Bridge Airport has so many airplanes that I just asked the instructor who had checked me out in their 172 SP if they had other airplanes with very similar avionics, and he suggested the Cirrus SR 20.
So a few weeks ago I had an "avionics intro" to the SR 20 where an instructor parked the airplane close to a hangar where it could be plugged in and we could demonstrate the avionics. The "perspective" system in the Cirrus is essentially like the G1000 in the sense it has a PFD and MFD with almost all the features in common (software by the same company, Garmin). There's an additional keypad for typing in frequencies, which is easier than scrolling through all the letters when you know you want a "z". The keypad is alphabetic -- not a standard "qwerty" layout, but I figure I'll get used to that pretty easily. The autopilot is totally different but maybe easier, since it's integrated, taking its target altitude and altimeter setting off the PFD display so there are less redundant things to set. I decided to check out.
Cirrus has a rather elaborate syllabus that takes you through a somewhat regimented checkout process, but of course how onerous that is depends on how ready the instructor is to customize it to the individual student. In the case of Bay Bridge Airport it seems the instructor is quite willing to customize, both because I have a good facility with the G1000 and also because our first lesson happened on a day with favorable weather for flight and I pointed out that even though the syllabus said the first lesson was ground only, it would be a shame to waste a good day.
So, last Friday, I did steep turns, stalls, and normal takeoffs and landings. The SR 20 is different from airplanes I've flown before. It's essentially all composite (in fact, the POH says the factory needs to approve colors and brands before an owner can have his airplane repainted because the material could be damaged by solar radiation without sufficient protection). While it has fixed gear, its modern aerodynamics allows it to fly at Piper Arrow speeds or even a little more even with the streamlined gear hanging out. (I use the Arrow as a comparison because the SR 20's engine is the same size, 200 hp). Its controls are odd, a "side stick" emerging from the fuselage interior, so that the pilot flies with his left hand and the instructor with his right. (With a conventional yoke, both pilots can fly with the same hand.) The stick is extremely responsive with a very fast roll rate and somewhat slower pitch rate that's still impressive compared to other airplanes I've flown. However, those favorable features come at a price -- higher forces in pitch if you don't use the very fast, almost hyper 2-axis electric trim very often. Also, ground handling is somewhat clumsy because steering at low speeds is only by differential braking; the nosewheel casters. On landing, the fast pitch response can cause a tail strike if you flare too much or too quickly.
Safety features are unusual but reassuring: a ballistic recovery system, although it isn't rated up to VNE for this heavy, fast airplane, airbags integrated into the 4-point seatbelts, plus synthetic vision technology (SVT) for the PFD that's so good it gives you an image of the runway numbers in the screen as you pass over them in reality. But the big deal is terrain that's shown in what looks almost like 3-D on the screen. Of course there's also the XM weather and collision avoidance features I've praised before in using the G1000 in other airplanes.
While the SR 20 cruises at speeds in the mid 130's without much effort, it is handicapped compared, say, to a 182, by rather long takeoff and landing distances. At Easton that wouldn't matter but Bay Bridge is about 2700 feet long, and the SR 20 needs about 2500 in zero wind. That means you'd better land in the right direction if the wind favors one direction even a very little!
It appears the SR 20 offers some useful features compared to traditional, all-metal aircraft of the kind that were around when I was learning to fly. While I don't like it as much as a Bonanza, we need to keep that in perspective (pun not intended) -- a Bonanza costs on the order of $900,000, and for that price you can have 2, or even maybe 3 SR 20's.
posted by SToby at 09:43
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