Apologies if its been asked before, can’t find too much. Really like to hear opinions.
In the market for a new Cirrus or at least G5. (bbased in Aus) Very typical customer i would think, Wife who likes idea of parachute and so do i given country i sometimes fly over, 3 kids under 10 so would fit in a 5 seater easily, they all like the comfort of it.
Initially was going to go non-turbo. Most flights I do are around 2 hours, about half with family. Usually not too affected by weather but would nice sometimes to be higher. But i doubt family on portable oxygen for prolonged periods is something most pax are happy with? So turbo probably not worth the extra engine issues.
However been thinking that Cirrus sell almost 3 turbo for every NA engine. Will that mean a non turbo cirrus hard to sell later as everyone chasing turbos? In that case it would be worth the extra for the turbo as the resale would be much easier.
Can’t comment on value, but just flew with two 10yr olds a few 3-4 hour legs over two weeks of flying at 13-15k in NA and they did not mind O2 at all. One leg at 12K I monitored their saturation without supplemental O2 and they were both well above 90% the entire flight with no signs of hypoxia.
When making a recent decision of NA vs T I weighted pluses and minuses, and for my mission NA was a winner (useful weight, endurance, lower maintenance overhead, faster below 10K). I have flown and intend to fly it in the upper teens without hesitation to get over weather and for tailwind advantage, but do not mind staying at 3-6K if needed for headwind or ice avoidance. Flying low has its advantages for the curious types. I’d love to fly low down under spotting roos and crocks ;). Maybe one day…
Non turbo it is.