It's all well, but you've gotta fly one first, then decide if it's for
you. I was also pretty excited about Cirrus, until I got a ride in an
SR-20 last year. On the ground, you sit like a king: the ergonomics,
view and comfort are terrific, but in the air the plane is very
slippery and feels like it's skating on ice, only in three dimensions.
It was pretty much impossible to trim it off for a hands-off flight,
without the a/p. I found the beast almost too squirelly to control,
and the side stick was indeed giving that disconnected feeling. Like
the others been saying, I couldn't wait till we landed. The whole
experience was hinting that I might lack some piloting skills, but one
trip in a Cherokee put things back in place.

Bottom line, I'd take Arrow or even Warrior any time over Cirrus.
Piper's ride is solid and predictable, and you can relax and enjoy the
ride, while Cirrus is too slippery and manually flying one demands
constant control inputs to the point that it wears you out very soon.
I have suspicion this may be true for most metal vs. composite
aircraft.

-Toly.


Someone mentioned they hate the plane... I have yet to fly in one, but I
know it certainly offers everything I could hope to want in a small general
aviation plane (except for the bathroom for my wife!) It's roomy,
redundant, and fast. I really like the idea of the side stick... that must
make dealing with charts soooooo much easier with all the space freed up in
front of you. Not to mention more room for the three course meal mid-flight.