Cirrus demo

My entry was one of those drawn at OSH for a 2-hour checkout in an SR-22, and
we finally coordinated everything and made the flight yesterday. The
following are my impressions of the aircraft:


Getting aboard is easier than in most low-wingers because of the two large
doors. The seats are firm and comfortable and the front cabin is roomier
than a Bonanza.

A hot start was easy with the experienced Cirrus demo pilot to help. Taxiing
is simple by using differential braking, but I would prefer a steerable nose
gear--crosswinds require riding one of the brakes to go straight. The rudder
and brake pedal forces are heavier than my Cutlass RG.

The PFD and MFD were a bit bewildering at first simply because I hadn't
learned the scan yet. There are electronic checklists on the MFD that are
easy to use, and getting the airplane ready for takeoff was simple.

We aborted the takeoff roll because of an open door warning. It doesn't tell
you which one and doesn't annunciate until you advance the throttle for
takeoff, so we had to do the drill twice before we had the proper door
secured. Once we'd sorted that out, I shoved the throttle full forward and
waited for 70 knots rotation speed. This took rather longer to arrive than I
expected; the SR-22 is not a short field airplane. After rotation, I pitched
to +12 degrees for Vy and retracted the 50% takeoff flaps at 80 knots IAS.

Climbout is pretty brisk for someone accustomed to a 180 hp 172RG--about 1200
fpm, IIRC. The ailerons are very crisp and responsive, but I found I needed
to re-trim them at various times, something I'm not used to. The electronic
trim seemed to work well, contrary to reports I've read of its being over
sensitive. The airplane was out of yaw trim and I had to hold right rudder
the whole flight, which was annoying. Yaw trim can only be adjusted on the
ground.

As we climbed to 4500', we spent a while setting up the autopilot for rate of
climb and altitude preselect. It was at this point that I realized the
Cirrus is a systems management airplane. There is an awful lot going on,
it's happening fairly quickly, and the slippery Cirrus can get badly out of
shape on you in a hurry. In my airplane, the autopilot is a good helper. In
the Cirrus, it's an indispensable crew member for single-pilot IFR;
definitely a no-go item if it's inop. Furthermore, the pilot must be razor
sharp on pushing all those buttons and twisting all those knobs if he plans
on making approaches in IMC or he will quickly find himself miles behind the
situation when crunch time comes. This is not an airplane that confers extra
safety by virtue of its advanced systems--rather the reverse, IMO.

At 80% power, 65 deg. ROP, the SR-22 made 178 KTAS at 4500 feet. Wow! That's
great...uh-oh, look at the fuel burn: 19.7 GPH. Woof! Glad it was on
Klapmeier's credit card! Coming back, we ran 65% power, LOP and got 158
KTAS at 5500 feet and burned 11.8 GPH.

We vectored ourselves for an ILS at Hammond, LA and I found the airplane very
easy to manage on my first attempt at a hand-flown approach. The PFD has
some nice cues for the pilot to keep himself on the localizer and the Cirrus
came down the glideslope quite nicely. Of course, it would have been even
nicer if I'd let George do it, as I'm sure I would in IMC.

In the pattern, the airplane is easy to manage. The Cirrus guy had me fly
100-90-80 on downwind-base-final. The roundout altitude takes some getting
used to. I tended to round out high my first couple of times. After that, I
found the Cirrus quite easy to land.

I enjoyed the SR-22, but I think I will decline the opportunity to buy an
airplane that costs twice as much as my house. When I get '87D sold, I'll be
in the market for a nice used Bonanza or 210.

--
Dan
C-172RG at BFM