ARNAV display: to be, or not to be?

a dual alternator system is available for the comparatively-trivial cost of $2400.

  • Is there a technical reason why CD couldn’t offer this as an A level upgrade too?

I can’t think of any technical reason - unlike the Stormscope, the alternator is not dependent on input from anything else. I would put it down to the fact that the ‘A’ model is seen by Cirrus as a mostly VFR plane, but capable of occasional IFR. At least that’s my theory and I’m sticking to it!

  • By the logic you presented – electrical vulnerability being the main safety issue – wouldn’t this argue that for serious IFR’ers, the B airplane plus dual alts would be the best value?

I think so, and that’s why #1033 is a ‘B’ model with dual alternators, but others have said that for their use, redundant ILS capability is important.

When I got my plane (last century’s model) the dual alternator option was not available … at least I don’t recall it being available.

Reza said,

we want backup IFR equipment in the base “A” model.

I disagree. The ‘A’ model is aimed at VFR or mostly-VFR operations.

How could you say this. Cirrus advertises SR20 as a fully functional IFR airplane and FAA supports and enforces this by requiring backup battery and backup vaccum pump.

How could you say this. Cirrus advertises SR20 as a fully functional IFR airplane and FAA supports and enforces this by requiring backup battery and backup vaccum pump.

  1. The backup power sources have nothing to do with IFR certification. They are required under FAR 23.1331.

  2. Cirrus could have offered a day-VFR only model, but I betcha they would not have sold too many.

  3. You said yourself that for IFR you want redundant systems. Ergo, the ‘A’ model is not aimed at you.

  4. What it really comes down to is that you want it all, but you want it cheap. I can understand that, I’d like to get it all for less money too. There is an option for you, of course - you can build your own. You’ll save money, and you can fit exactly the gear you want. The http://www.express-aircraft.com/Express Aircraft Co. has just the plane you want, very similar to the SR20. I seriously considered that route myself, but I just don’t have the time, so I’m happy to pay Cirrus Design to build it for me.

Cheers, Clyde

I was thinking of starting a thread just like this one. I have done almost ZERO research into the different MFD’s available, however some of the other displays seem much more capable with a better display. (Like UPS)I am thinking they are able to display more colors and higher resolution. If this is true then the limitation is the display panel itself and not the software. I like the idea of having engine monitoring on the panel and the bigger you can display the map for situational awareness the better! I think I heard that the mapping on the Arnav showing your position in relation to the real world is off. WHY? This is GPS. From the little I know, it doesn’t appear that Arnav offers the best MFD for our plane.

David Raab

The choice to go with ARNAV was made at least four years ago, and they built the panel around the screen. It was probably a good choice at the time (as the other players weren’t around and the 5200 was pretty much state of the art at the time) but is looking a bit shabby today.

Replacing the ARNAV is something that Cirrus is unlikely to consider at this stage, since they must continue to deliver planes if they are to survive. I’m sure they are aware of the other players in the market and are doing their engineering due diligence with respect to what’s out there. They could switch vendors down the line (with a wiring and panel rebuild and recertification) but this is something they must be very careful about.