By request I offer this post from the member section up to the public boards in an effort to show why we enjoy flying our planes…
"It was a simple local scenic flight to introduce my eight year old daughter’s third grade teacher and her “little sister” to the world of aviation. The weather was somewhat cloudy and the hazy visibility would make the scenic part of the tour less awe inspiring than a CAVU day, but still very VFR if you dodged a few clouds. But it wasn’t the visibility or flying with my daughter (who is the best copilot you could ask for) that would make this flight so memorable and so very rare. As it turned out it was a perfect flight. Starting with a preflight by the book (or checklist in this case) to the start up, ATIS, call to ground, more checklists, transfer to tower, position and hold, departure to a touch and go, to a PERFECT call for flight following (one tight FAA approved spiel in terse correct phraseology)followed by an immediate “squawk 0406”, and so it went. While we circled various landmarks and respective homes, holding perfect altitudes, with a very busy ATC advising of traffic as it all just flowed seamlessly, professionally, perfectly…nuts-on pattern altitude and speeds, a sweet almost full stall landing and taxi back…smiles and pictures while guests set in the pilot’s seat and hear that this knob does that and this dial does this and then hugs and goodbyes…
The drive home is when I reflect on a flight and self-critique: where I bollixed up this call or missed that on the preflight, or should have done this or that…and as I stepped through this examine I realized everything had gone…well…perfectly. My daughter looked at me and asked why I was smiling and chuckling to myself - she thought I was laughing at some hidden piece of humor - I tried to explain, but couldn’t…I just kept murmuring…“perfect”…"
Since this post and this flight my daughter is fully committed to learning to fly - I bought her a set of private pilot dvd lessons and she is having a blast!
Finally, re some negative Cirrus posts - I have flown about 30 or so different aircraft over the last nearly as many years of flying and the Cirrus is IMO the best of the herd hands down. It’s not perfect but no aircraft is, but I absolutely love the plane and trust it enough to regularly haul my wife and two kids all over the place…my two cents…