I have been following this forum fairly closely and have noticed that the alternator and engine problems are getting a lot of attention. I am a low hour pilot without a deep understanding of the mechanics of an airplane. First I would like to know if several SR20s are having the same problems. Second, I want to know (in simple terms) what these problems mean for me if my SR20 is due to arrive in about five months. Will they have this all worked out by then? Is there any chance of switching to the Lycoming engine? Why was the Continental chosen in the first place?
I would like to hear from anybody with knowledge concerning these problems. I would also like to hear from any current SR20 owners that have any comments (good or bad) concerning the SR20.
I also have one other question on a different topic. Do owners choose their own tail number?
Thanks for any responses.
I also have one other question on a different topic. Do owners choose their own tail number?
Thanks for any responses.
If you select a specific N number, Cirrus will register the plane that way. However, you must first reserve it through the FAA. (You can go to AOPA’s web site to find out all about this.) It costs $10 per year for the reservation unless you are a manufacturer or airline. Once reserved, you just have to write the FAA annually (& pay another 10) until they (CD) build your plane. Once you reserve the N number, you have to notify CD and send them copies of the FAA paperwork. They take care of the rest.
If you do not reserve one through the FAA, CD will assign you one which will usually end with a CD.
Second, I want to know (in simple terms) what these problems mean for me if my SR20 is due to arrive in about five months. Will they have this all worked out by then?
You have nothing to worry about. There has never been an airplane manufactured without some problems in the “real world” that have to be resolved. This is an ongoing process that favors people buying later rather than people buying earlier. Earlier purchasers are those who will uncover the problems the factory never encountered. The factory will then fix those problems. The current difficulties with engines, vacuum pumps and alternators are not unusual in the early serial number airplanes, nor do they yet have a known cause. Once the cause is identified, it will be taken care of – Cirrus is a top notch organization as far as I can tell and they plan to be around for a long time. Read and learn all you can, and ask all the questions you want, but there’s no point worrying about it.
Is there any chance of switching to the Lycoming engine? Why was the Continental chosen in the first place?
With an experimental homebuilt, you can do what you want. With a certified airplane, however, you are constrained to what has been certified. In the Cirrus, the Continental is the engine of choice regardless of what you want.
As to why the C over the L, I haven’t a clue. You can bet, however, that many things were considered, including price. If both manufacturers had engines that would fit the requirments of the SR20, price may well have been a determining factor. Since you’re new to this business (I’m not), you might as well know that both of the engine manufacturers have their proponents and both have their detractors. Both companies have their ongoing technical and maintenance problems. The new SR22 has a Continental in it, so you can probably assume that this will be the engine manufacturer of choice for some time to come.
I also have one other question on a different topic. Do owners choose their own tail number?
You can choose and reserve your own N number with the FAA. I forget the exact mailing address in Oklahoma City, but you can get it from the FAA’s web site, and your Cirrus sales contact would know it too. It’s a two-step process: doing a search to see that nobody else has the number, then paying the FAA $10 a year (I think) to reserve it for you.
I reserved one involving my wife’s birthday and initials. Without one bit of research to back this up, I would bet that similar “buying off the spouse” N-numbers are pretty common.