WE HAVE 2000 SR20 WITH THE PARACHUTE AND ROCKET MOTOR DUE FOR REPLACMENT NOVEMBER 2010, MY QUESTION IS, CAN WE HAVE THIS DONE ALONG WITH THE ANNUAL DUE MARCH 2011?
You can do it with your annual inspection but from November to March your airplane will not be airworthy. I would suggest doing a combined CAPS replacement and annual in December taking the plane in to start the work on November 30. The sign off for the annual would then not expire until December 31, 2011. Over the next few years you cab back the annual to March by doing the same thing with annuals at the beginning of the month.
Plan ahead for the CAPS replacement so you are not sitting and waiting for parts.
Apart from downtime, is there any other benefit from doing the CAPS replacement together with the annual?
A little. The cargo compartment bulkhead has to be removed to access both CAPS and the ELT/BATT2 batteries, the airplane is already in the hangar and the mechs. toolbox is rolled up to it, all the paperwork can be completed at the same time, and ferry costs are incurred only once.
This is an excellent question and could very well be placed in the cirrus flying-- members section for a greater depth of discussion.
I have to disagree with Brian on doing these items simultaneous in December. Do each item when they are due. The SC will likely charge you their base rate for each item anyway. Don’t lose 4 months of your annual for trying to save 3 hours in labor. I know there are also downtime issues but I still wouldn’t do it.
I agree, most annuals are priced on a base rate plus squawks etc. the CAPS replacement is based on hours to complete. When I dropped my plane off for the CAPS I went across the street for lunch & when I came back they had my parachute & rocket out & ready to install the new parts in. I’m sure that it took longer for the paint to dry than the actual swap. If not mistaken I picked her up about 5 days later. (my choice) Since the CAPS & the annual are a time based event my choice was to complete them when they are due.