Weighing up a cirrus purchase vs something like a A36. I am drawn to the Cirrus for looks, chute, general moderness but it has its detractors.
Have seen some comments along the lines of “don’t leave your Cirrus in the sun.” Often my trip do involve flyign to regional airports and the aircraft can be parked in the sun for 4 or 5 days. Sometimes its above 93 degrees in these places.
Obviously will have a cover but will this lead to a danger of plastic buckling, window damage etc? Anyone else had to leave their Cirrus in a fairly hot sun?
Owned mine in Phoenix for 15 years. We get a little bit of sun here. I do hangar it and I also keep a canopy cover on it. Still doing fine. They can warp some plastic interior parts on the early ones if you don’t do that. The exterior takes it very well.
extralite:
out in the hot sun, with a cover for a few days shouldn’t be a concern.
No. I see plenty of Cirri tied down permanently some with no cover. The inevitable repaint is probably cheaper than hangarage, but my plane is hangared whenever possible, and when not it has a cover on, even if only for a few hours. But I don’t have any major concern about parking it outside for a few days at a time.
I parked my first Cirrus in the California sun for 4 years, with just a Bruce’s canopy cover for protection. The plane was just fine, the cover made it onto my next plane and another year before it disintegrated.
The paint protects the composite from the sun. It will fade the same as any airplane if left outside for a decade. In fact, Cirrus has specific requirements for the paint used that ensure the skin is properly protected and does not get too hot in the worst case scenario. Like others have said, there is nothing about a Cirrus making it more sun damage prone than any other plane.
Ross I agree to a point, and certainly leaving the airplane outside when traveling won’t matter. But I do think composite planes need to be well painted, and, as the fleet ages, the older paint jobs may deteriorate to the point that they no longer have the protection they need. Paint them!
Hangars are costly, but priceless IMHO. The sun warps plastic, fades paint. The wind stresses incessantly and rain permeates hinges, etc. Probably even worse with 4 seasons freezing, etc. It’s kinda sad to see rows of airplanes tied down outside for years.
Actually the most sun-scorched was N751CD, but it evidently didn’t harm the parachute which served the next owner well. N310TN was hangared and only got its sun on the move!
