As there are many of you out there that can't hear enough about the SR20, I'd thought to write up my story of N-144CD that was picked up in Duluth, flown to Seattle to assist me in a (or THE) 14 day IFR course at Wings Aloft and was subsequently flown back East to Bangor for ferrying to Europe. It'll be in installments (timing will depend on my gusto and time available) and some pictures will be added to provide color and/or to look at if the reading becomes boring.....
These are my personal impressions and opinions and should be taken as such. Do not take any advice from me, the proof of the pudding is having the experience yourself and if these notes help you to get there, so much the better! Having fun is one of my goals in life and the undertaking I am about to describe was a lot of fun (per the plan)! My appreciation goes to the Cirrus Design and Wings Aloft staff that had to put up with me during the past weeks (in particular Saul Armstrong, my CFII). Although I have reasons to believe the fun was shared, you'll have to ask them directly for verification (but please, not via this public board..).
Han Klinkspoor (happy N-144CD driver)
Cirrus SR20, registration N-144CD started its (or his/her, whatever is politically correct for a nice looking and a-pleasure-to-handle bird...) life somewhere in March in the Cirrus womb in Duluth. Cirrus staff was kind enough to keep me informed about progress by emailing me digital pictures of the various phases of how production number 34 was coming together. One of those is attached proving that the down payments started to look like something that maybe one day will fly....
Delivery was planned for May 7 and Cirrus kept that date firm throughout the process. As there was significant planning going on around the delivery date (me, Dutch national, French PPL, coming in from Europe; Saul, from Down Under, coming in from Wings Aloft in Seattle to accompany me going West etcetera), this was a good thing. N144CD ("C" package, 3 blade spinner) was right there, bright and shiny in the big hall between its brothers and sisters (or "its") rolling off the production line at a steadily increasing rate. As I have never before taken delivery of an airplane, the assistance by Cirrus with checklists was helpful. In a thorough "walk around" all major (like: does it have two wings and one tail?) and minor (as in: do the interior lights work?) were checked off before rolling it out for the acceptance flight with Jeff to test the behavior in flight and proper operation of the avionics. The weather was occasional IMC, so the general confidence level was also tested right there. It's hard to really check off "the envelope" on an aircraft that I've not flown extensively before, but N144CD seemed to behave correctly and as advertised. On a side note: I have taken Cirrus' word that the CAPS parachute works, we didn't have time to test it in-flight. Also, I trust the service ceiling numbers, we never made it that high.... The avionics turned out to be amazing. On the way back into KDLH, the STEC 55 was put in approach mode for the ILS and it literally glide sloped us down the chute, leaving only the throttle to attend to. I'd guess the next generation SR20 (SR20-400?) will have a Cirrus-trained dog in the front office to keep the pilot from interfering with the computers..... In any case, if you can afford the "C" package, go for it. IMHO the added redundancy (AKA peace of mind) and capabilities are good value for money.
A note: When buying a car (at least in Europe), warranties are assumed (through the dealer) by the car manufacturer as a single point of contact. With the Cirrus comes a deck of warranty cards to be mailed back, suggesting that in case of a warranty claim, the owner deals directly with the Original Equipment Manufacturer. Also: Do I have all the bases covered with these cards? An analogy to illustrate the point as seen from Europe: how would a US buyer of a Japanese car feel about dealing with an Osaka supplier of the exhaust system in case of a claim? If Cirrus Customer service is on this frequency, please accept this as positive input for enhancing the "out of the box customer experience".
Acceptance completed, N144CD was rolled back into the big hall for the night. Meanwhile Saul Armstrong had come in as the Wings Aloft CFII instructor assigned the (hard to overestimate) task of helping me getting familiar with the Cirrus, be my source of wisdom in the cross country flights and the Seattle based IFR training. As we figured we had to get used to each other as we were going to share a limited space for the next 20 or so days, we headed to downtown Duluth in search for beer, dinner and perhaps some excitement (you never know what could cross your path in Northern Minnesota) in preparation for the cross-country flight westbound to Seattle, planned to start the next day.
The morning saw VFR conditions, so after figuring out what the ARNAV database (ordered for International) could offer us for uncharted territories such as the Dakota's and beyond (not very much as it turned out), we programmed the Garmins and set out for Bismarck as our first refueling stop. It was solid IFR... "I" for Interstate 94, "F" for Follow and "R" for that Road, which gave us an opportunity to check on the accuracy of the GPS satellite signals. They passed.
Bismarck appeared at the horizon. A significant addition to my geographical knowledge of the USA. We dialed in for ATIS and, no doubt, something exciting was going on in Bismarck (which figures, as it is named, I'd think, after a famous German statesman who united the country in the 19th century). After the usual information, we had to jot down about 5 minutes (or so it seemed) of information regarding taxiways under repair or construction. By the sound of it, this was a major overhaul of the airport layout. Getting the plane landed was easy, after that progressive taxi instructions seemed the only way
to stay within the airport boundaries. The tower was very helpful to guide us to the GA ramp. The courtesy car at the FBO was the only object between us and lunch before taking off again for Great Falls, the intended airport of next landing. As the locals seemed friendly, we decided to call KGTF our final destination for the day. Holman Aviation's service was impeccable in whizzing us off to a local hotel. We never saw the Great Falls and by looking at the scenery they can't be great to start with as I didn't spot any river of falls-quality size.
The next morning Ian and Mike from Cirrus had caught up with us going to Seattle and their N205CD was on the ramp about to take off after refueling. Pre-flight completed, manual on the knees, I tried to get life in the power plant. In vain. The traction department didn't want to come to life. All combined efforts between the POH, Saul and me didn't produce the desired effect. Finally, with an almost flat battery, an external power source was hooked up (checked off that item on the acceptance sheet...) and this inspired the 200 horses to come alive. As a brand new owner, I wasn't really amused (understatement). Know the feeling that your brand new car won't start in the morning? Right, I was ready to invert the flight plan and head back to Duluth.... Discussing this glitch with Ian and Mike when we caught up with them in Spokane, revealed the cold start secret: Prime for 12 seconds, open the throttle one "Ian crack" (about 3-4 mm, equals to 1/7.5th of an inch for the metrically challenged). It worked ever since.... Take off and getting en-route was relatively uneventful after that.
Meanwhile I got the hang of flying the Cirrus. The long x-c legs allowed us to experiment with the STEC Autopilot and the Garmins. These are real marvels, but take time to master, especially in a high workload environment (more about that later). The Garmin 430 simulator CD is obligatory homework before setting foot in the airplane! I didn't and paid for it in "on the job" time. After KGTF there were several options for refueling, but as we progressed weather started to close down the VFR options on us. The split comms capability of the audio panel came in handy, as the tasks of keeping in touch with ATC for flight following and talking extensively to Flightwatch could be easily divided between us. Spokane became the refueling stop of choice (actually by elimination and when asked by ATC if we were on a delivery flight, Saul truthfully replied: "sort of", but that's another story). At the FBO, Spokane Airways, the courtesy car was out for lunch with Ian and Mike, who also diverted to KGEG. Luckily they returned in time to hand us the keys and give the engine start advice cited above. Upon digesting of the Spokane haute cuisine lunch, the last leg to Seattle required some thorough planning, as the weather turned IMC and MEA's to negotiate the Cascades became a constraining factor, the SR20 not being equipped with pressure cabin nor supplemental oxygen. N205CD left on an IFR flight plan, we borrowed the idea and followed suit. N144CD picked up some rime ice (it's first!!) on the way through the clouds, easily spotted by looking at the leading edge stall strips, that provide (I think unintentional) a good visual gauge on the thickness of it. DO NOT TRY THIS AT HOME.
Breaking out with the Puget Sound over the nose was one of the highlights, though being vectored around SeaTac to get into Boeing Field required significant attention. Saul kind of knew the way around the area (...), so approach and landing were a breeze. The welcome at Wings Aloft was chaleureux (French for warm, but it sounds a lot better and it was!) with a rental car waiting, hotel reservations made (Thanks Holly!) and I was off to get some rest for the work that was ahead: 14 days of intense IFR training, fasten your seatbelts.
The first experience with extended flying the SR20 was an excellent one. On long cross countries I can actually shift in my seat, unheard of in the planes I used to fly. Being able to go back for a beer would be the next logical design step. There seems to be less (tiring) vibration transmitted through the airframe than in 'conventional' metal aircraft. I have experienced the same in the (French wood and Dacron built) Robin DR series airplanes. Performance is as advertised, leaning needs to be practiced, as I initially found the CHT and EGT instruments hard to read from the left seat. The cruise settings page on the ARNAV display is excellent as the reference, easily accessible and readable, even for pilots my age, for whom the reading abilities aren't changed but the arms tend to get shorter..... N144CD flies the numbers once you've put them in. The sidestick is natural to handle in flight. The autopilot/trim mechanism coupling is simple and assures the aircraft in-trim when you take it back from Charlie, the A/P. I don't like the coarseness of the trim when operated manually. Even after much practice, it's easy to over- or undershoot with too much adjustment actions required to get it right. A proportional trim-action (the longer you push the more pronounced the action) or a miniature trimwheel (yes, I do see the construction challenge...) would be my preference. As I flew it from the right hand on one leg, copying down a clearance in-flight as a right-hander is a challenge and also my (right-legged) kneeboard got in the way of the sidestick (I'm a longlegger). Left-handed pilots will have to find their personal routine to cope with this from the left seat I imagine. As someone remarked earlier on this board, landing the SR20 takes practice, crosswind landings even more, as I found replacing stick/yoke habits by subtle one-wrist-only movements with coordinated rudder pressures presents a challenge for which I was glad to have Saul along in the right seat.
As others have noted, the Cirrus SR20 is stirring up interest among the ATC folks. Over the past weeks we had comments ranging from "Ah, the one with the parachute", "I'll call you experimental", "Are you a twin?" (as we descended at 160 kts), "Sabreliner 144CD", "Heard about it, a good thing for general aviation", "Need to update our database, what are the basic specs?", "Nice plane you got there" and, of course, we didn't tire of explaining, that this is a certified aircraft, a new all composite design out of Duluth, production #34 and spelled like the cloud.... Cirrus owes one to all the early owners for spreading the gospel, educating the world and taking considerable more turn-around time at airfields to accommodate the curious crowds.... This plane makes heads turn!
Unless I get flamed out, watch this space for the next installment about IFR & sleepless in Seattle!