Flying a Cirrus

I had the opportunity last week to get some (side)stick time in a Cirrus SR-20. A friend of mine flew up to Seattle from Chico, CA to Shelton, WA where we were both attending a conference. We took advantage of a break to fly to Everett in his plane, get out my PA-12 and do a couple of grass strip landings, then back to Shelton.

What a study in contrasts!

Everything about the Cirrus screams 'modern, clean sheet design.' From the glass cockpit (including all charts) to the engine/prop management, I'm sure there are few single engine GA planes that bear so little resemblance in terms of flow and workload mangement.

I flew down in the right seat and had little difficulty adjusting to the sidestick. The plane flies heavy, but is almost twitchy in terms of trim adjustments. My first landing was interesting--he flies a 90 knot final approach, almost my top speed in 64M. The low wing perspective made me feel like I was going to drive the prop into the pavement before the flare.

It could have been just my friend, but I don't think he stopped fiddling with the computers or gps/comms all the way down and back (I flew left seat home). For a VFR flight in the local area all I needed was to look out the window but he was pulling up approach plates and airport diagrams, etc. For a new pilot planning to go direct to regional jets it's probably the right type of aircraft to train in.

Needless to say our flight in the cub was as memorable for him as my time in the SR-20. He was blown away by the feel of the plane, actually landing on grass, etc. I encouraged him to find a nearby place to get his TW and rent a J-3 just for grins.

As and IFR platform and a solid XC cruiser I was impressed with the Cirrus. Useful load is probably the limiting factor.

Hope he has TCAS in that thing. Doesn't sound like he spends much time looking outside. Kind of scares me. That thing would overtake a 80kt cub in a heartbeat and the FADEC would probably adjust the engine to accommodate best combustion of the Poly-Fiber it just ingested.
Chris

Cirrus

For the most part, I fly two planes. A Cirrus SR22 G2 that I rent from a friend and my PA 18 150. A striking contrast indeed! Four color moving maps on the Cirrus, and the compass won't even work in the cub! The SR22 is an improvement over the SR20 we were flying previously. More load, speed and especially climb rate on a hot day. Except for long IFR cross country flights, I'll take the low and slow for fun flying.

Tom from Iowa

My big brother flies a new SR-22 and a Husky on 'phibs. He once owned a Scout and a Super Viking, so the contrast isn't that new to him.

I haven't yet flown in the Cirrus but, from the descriptions I've heard, local flights do indeed consist of a lot of button pushing and knob twisting. So do longer xc flights but the per-minute adjustments are lower in number over a long flight.

Me? I'll just look out the windows at the slowly passing scenery. But then, I haven't any place to go. I *may* buy a share of a faster machine, though.

Jon B.

FADEC would probably adjust the engine to accommodate best combustion of the Poly-Fiber it just ingested.

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Crackin' me up!

Definitely a contrast, Cub to Cirrus.

I could get used to the speed easily.

I have a Cherokee that will do 150 mph flat-out with full fuel and 2 people on small tires. The speed is nice and it would now be hard to live with "just" a Cub. A multiple-airplane family is a happy family.

Still, I hope to always, at least, have a Cub, speedy or not.

DAVE