Be One with the Cirrus!

AdamZ said:
SR20 Avidyne $164.99
2009 SR20 Garmin Perspective $204.99
2012 SR20 Garmin Perspective $224.99
2007 SR22 Avidyne $267.99
2009 SR22 Garmin Perspective $339.99
2007 SR22 Turbo Avidyne $284.99
2010 SR22T FIKI $419.99

All have a $15.00 per hour fuel surcharge added to the above.
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Remember when avionics only changed the rental rate by $5/hr and the airplane was the important part?! Ha.

Wow. A $60/hr spread in rental rate in the SAME airframe for electronic gadgets.
 
spiderweb said:
Basically starting from 50%, incremental reductions on each leg. But then the power kept having to be readjusted. 25% works quite well, as long as you follow the descent profile.
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You sure it's the power setting that helped you? Perhaps it's because by the time you started using new power settings you got more time in the airplane and just got better because of that?

I don't like using a specific power setting on the shot final. I know what pitch and airspeed I need to maintain, then regulate everything else with power, gear, and flaps.
You don't what to be completely screwed if you loose your engine instruments. I have only about 10 hours in a G3, in that time I lost my engine instruments twice.
 
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spiderweb said:
True. I was screaming by the Cessnas so quickly, I didn't get a chance to see much! :rockon:

But seriously, I heard tell today that my Friendly Local Flight School is getting a new C182 on line. I had checked out in nearly every airplane they had, including two early 2000s C182s . . . . which were slowly sold off.

Waited for that Saratoga. . . .

Waited for new C182s. . . .

(This is years of speculation, hopes, etc. on their part.)

Well, shoot; I couldn't wait anymore for a serious X-C aircraft, so I checked out in the Cirrus last month.

NOW I hear there is a new C182 coming on line. Still--about 15 kts slower than the Cirrus, and not as roomy, esp. in the back.
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Ben, I think I can speak for all of the other fellow PoA renters when I say "You suck!" :D

What the hell kind of flight school do you have there?

I've got about 1.5 hours in an SR22, but only two landings. Both were pretty good though.

Have fun!
 
MachFly said:
You sure it's the power setting that helped you? Perhaps it's because by the time you started using new power settings you got more time in the airplane and just got better because of that?

I don't like using a specific power setting on the shot final. I know what pitch and airspeed I need to maintain, then regulate everything else with power, gear, and flaps.
You don't what to be completely screwed if you loose your engine instruments. I have only about 10 hours in a G3, in that time I lost my engine instruments twice.
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Quite sure, though part of it probably is what you say about just becoming more familiar with the airplane.

Using two settings, only, simplifies matters and reduces workload in the pattern. I fly close patterns and have done a few power-offs to know how close I need to be. But, true, I reserve the right to change power on short final. But it has to be smooth, and no jockeying.
 
nddons said:
Ben, I think I can speak for all of the other fellow PoA renters when I say "You suck!" :D

What the hell kind of flight school do you have there?

I've got about 1.5 hours in an SR22, but only two landings. Both were pretty good though.

Have fun!
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Haha, well the main "suck" about it is the sucking sound you hear when the money flies out of my wallet!

The flight school where I fly has two SR20s, a few archers, a twin, several C172s and a C182.
 
I really like the cirrus setup and flight performance. The side stick is incredibly ergonomic and promotes good flying practices of keeping one hand on the stick at all times, even during AP operations.

However, it is probably not the best airplane for a new pilot. In particular, the earlier "G1" models with the super slick wing has a nasty stall characteristic where the fuselage is so slick that the stall bubble can transit over the top of the cockpit making stalls develop extremely quickly.

I would encourage keeping power on all the way to touch down. Fly a bigger pattern and it works beautifully every time. If there's any "magic" to pattern work in the Cirrus, I'd say that it is in treating the pattern as if you're in a *large* single.

I had the great good luck when living in Seattle to have a former boss who bought one and we made a deal that if I flew with him quite a bit when he was new to it (and a relatively low time PPL) that I could fly it if I put gas in at the end. That plane is the perfect X-C machine.

My only complaint about the first gen SR-20 is that it didn't have big enough fuel tanks. With only 40 gallons in the wings and a 12GPH 75% cruise, you'd have to land for fuel long before you were ready.

Since then I haven't flown one. It's not just the high rental rates. Most of the places that rent the Cirrus have both high checkout requirements and even higher daily minimums. Because of that, if I find myself somewhere away from home and wanting to rent a Cirrus I opt for the Cherokee or Cessna -- it takes me a little longer to get their, but the rental outfit will often waive the daily minimum. It would really stink to pay $200+ per hour x 4-5 hours per day for a 3 day trip of 90-120 minutes each way.
 
jwriteclub said:
I really like the cirrus setup and flight performance. The side stick is incredibly ergonomic and promotes good flying practices of keeping one hand on the stick at all times, even during AP operations.

However, it is probably not the best airplane for a new pilot. In particular, the earlier "G1" models with the super slick wing has a nasty stall characteristic where the fuselage is so slick that the stall bubble can transit over the top of the cockpit making stalls develop extremely quickly.

I would encourage keeping power on all the way to touch down. Fly a bigger pattern and it works beautifully every time. If there's any "magic" to pattern work in the Cirrus, I'd say that it is in treating the pattern as if you're in a *large* single.

I had the great good luck when living in Seattle to have a former boss who bought one and we made a deal that if I flew with him quite a bit when he was new to it (and a relatively low time PPL) that I could fly it if I put gas in at the end. That plane is the perfect X-C machine.

My only complaint about the first gen SR-20 is that it didn't have big enough fuel tanks. With only 40 gallons in the wings and a 12GPH 75% cruise, you'd have to land for fuel long before you were ready.

Since then I haven't flown one. It's not just the high rental rates. Most of the places that rent the Cirrus have both high checkout requirements and even higher daily minimums. Because of that, if I find myself somewhere away from home and wanting to rent a Cirrus I opt for the Cherokee or Cessna -- it takes me a little longer to get their, but the rental outfit will often waive the daily minimum. It would really stink to pay $200+ per hour x 4-5 hours per day for a 3 day trip of 90-120 minutes each way.
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Minimum hours are 4-5 per day? Yep, that really would stink. The flight school where I rent has a 2 hour min, and they'll work with you on that.

I never new the early Cirri had on 40 gallons. That really is next to useless.

It is a perfect cross country machine. (Well, at least for those of us who can't fly 400 hours a year; in which case, I'm looking at a Pilatus.)
 
jwriteclub said:
My only complaint about the first gen SR-20 is that it didn't have big enough fuel tanks. With only 40 gallons in the wings and a 12GPH 75% cruise, you'd have to land for fuel long before you were ready.
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40gal fuel tank, how early was this?
I used to fly a G1 (from 2000) and it has a 56gal tank.
 
Henning said:
An iPad is a gadget, a system installed is a tool.
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Who said anything about iPad?

Avidyne vs Garmin and a $60/hr price spread between the two was my comment.

Maybe Garmin snuck an Easter Egg in that allows one to play Pong on the MFD? That'd explain the price difference. ;)
 
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