First experience with an SR22T today

[Challenged]

I was lucky enough to hitch a ride today in a Cirrus SR22T. I've sat in one before, but this is the first time I've gotten to fly in one and consequently, examine the systems and experience how the airplane handles first-hand. The plane is super slick looking, the interior is luxury car-esque, the safety systems are all extremely nice with TKS, traffic, etc...

That said, I was quite disappointed in the speed I saw. If I understood him correctly, he said that he usually plans for about 160kn, and sure enough, from what I saw, when we were cruising along at 75% power, it looked like we were right at 160 TAS. I had never done any calculations, but I guess in my mind I was expecting to see about 180kn or so.

I had read online that the turbo version (which this was) has a cruise speed of 214 knots, so I was a little disappointed that we only showed 160 at 3,500 ft and 75% power. I guess most of the extra speed comes from the planes ability to cruise at the flight levels? This was about a 20 minute flight to lunch and then back, so we didn't take it up above 4,000.

While it was a really cool airplane, I thought about it, and for the main trip that I usually make, shaving 10 minutes off of my flight time probably isn't worth the extra $550,000.

 

[wabower]

None of the bigger singles will perform well at the altitude you chose. Turbo'd airplanes are typically a bit slower at low altitudes than their N/A version and gain a speed advantage only above the altitude at which the N/A can no longer maintain max power (above ~9k'.)

 

[Jaybird180]

None of the bigger singles will perform well at the altitude you chose. Turbo'd airplanes are typically a bit slower at low altitudes than their N/A version and gain a speed advantage only above the altitude at which the N/A can no longer maintain max power (above ~9k'.)

Yep, what Wayne said. Take that puppy up high and see how she blows

 

[spiderweb]

While it was an really cool airplane, I thought about it, and for the main trip that I usually make, shaving 10 minutes off of my flight time probably isn't worth the extra $550,000.

That's the point, but that is also the point for any T aircraft. You need to get up high to see the speed payoffs.

 

[Challenged]

Thanks for the insight on this. One other thing that crossed my mind is that if these planes really want to climb up high in order to be effective, you're going to be battling much stronger headwinds at times, so I would guess altitude planning makes much more of a difference in a turbo. Along the same lines, it would definitely be nice to have the option to climb up to 50 kn tailwinds. Anyhow, always fun to experience flying in different aircraft (and I'll admit that I looked at the used SR22 and SR20's online last night).

 

[wsuffa]

The difference in speed is probably the altitude. I have a turbo single. It has a 10-15 knot TAS difference depending on the altitude. At 3500' it's a lot slower than higher altitude. Turbo machines are best for longer distance travel where you get some altitude. Fuel burn is also worse at lower altitudes.

Winds are just something you plan for.

Calculate the groundspeed out for various altitudes, include fuel burn, and see what you get. I generally look first at about 10,000' with a stiff headwind, but it depends on the gradient of the wind speed change as one goes higher (so, if the headwind is 30 at 10,000 but 40 at FL180 and I gain 10 knots TAS and 1 GPH going up there, then it probably makes sense. But if the headwind is 20 at 10,000 and 45 at FL180, a 10 knot TAS gain still makes FL180 a loser).

The opposite is true with a tailwind - it usually makes sense to go higher with a tail wind, even if the higher altitude only has a slightly higher tailwind. What's really nice is getting a 60-70 knot tailwind at 17,000.

Unlike a turbine, the penalty down low in a turbo airplane is small enough that you can fly low when required & still do OK.

 

[wabower]

I flew a N/A 210 for seven years, then flew a T-210 for many more years over the same routes. After ~9,000 hours, trip times were almost identical, and westbound legs were almost always flown at low altitudes in both planes.

Then I bought a 340 (without careful study of the performance charts) because I believed the hype, only to find that the trip times were almost identical to the T-210.

Thanks for the insight on this. One other thing that crossed my mind is that if these planes really want to climb up high in order to be effective, you're going to be battling much stronger headwinds at times, so I would guess altitude planning makes much more of a difference in a turbo. Along the same lines, it would definitely be nice to have the option to climb up to 50 kn tailwinds. Anyhow, always fun to experience flying in different aircraft (and I'll admit that I looked at the used SR22 and SR20's online last night).

 

[cirrusmx]

At 3,500 you aint getting no where close to 180 tas and your fuel burn is going to be way higher than normal. Cirrus airplanes are meant to be flown higher up. they are great planes from 10000 and up. I have seen 210 TAS at 20000. Not bad for 17 gph. The only thing I personally dont like of the cirrus is the limited payload. Some 200 pounds more and it would be alright.

 

[cirrusmx]

Also, the cirrus prop is optimized for higher altitudes.

 

[peppy]

My normally aspirated (NA) SR22 is best for speed at about 8K'. There an SR22 will do over 180 ROP or 167-172 LOP when clean. My friends with turbos talk more about climb performance than speed. The climb makes flying at higher altitudes easy. The 25K' altitude capability of the turbo is also good if you fly out west over the mountains. In many cases you can plan a much more direct route. My limit for altitude is climb time. For long lights I will climb to the mid to high teens. Since mine is an NA plane I slow down but I like the fuel economy. At 17K' I'm at 162 its and 10.5-11 GPH.

All planes are a tradeoff of money, room, fuel burn, speed etc. It's why there is no perfect plane. I'm amazed at how many people will post why their plane is the perfect one. There are a lot of great planes with different mixes of attributes. To see an SR22T at its best, take a three hour flight, do it in the high teens, and look at the mix of comfort and speed. I say the high teens rather than the flight levels because most turbo pilots I know prefer to avoid using full oxygen masks so they routinely stay below 18K'.