Clyde —
I’m certain I speak for your legion of fans when I ask:
How’s your bird flying?
RK
I’m certain I speak for your legion of fans when I ask:
How’s your bird flying?
Well, I flew it for the first time today. I had sat in the right seat for a few circuits on Friday, but today was my day. Steve (local Cirrus agent) checked me out in it, totalling about 2 hours this morning, then I took it to show it off to a friend of mine who lives 160nm away, and is seriously considering ordering an SR20 or 22 to replace his very nice turbo-182RG. So I got the chance to check out the cruise performance, which comes very close to book (some light turbulence probably knocked a couple of knots off).
So here’s what I thought; firstly, it’s everything I expected - this is a damn fine aircraft! In no particular order;
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Ground handling is excellent - the wide track makes it very stable, and the brakes are smooth. Grumman drivers will feel right at home, others may take a little adapting to the castoring nosewheel.
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There are a few things to watch out for in pre-takeoff checks - the Arnav checklists are inadequate, but the Wings Aloft checklists are good. In particular, the trim must be checked after the autopilot or you risk takeoff with trim set very wrong (didn’t happen to me, but nearly did to someone else). If you pull the standby vacuum breaker, make sure you put it back in!
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Starting hot is easy - starting cold is not. Although we don’t think of Archerfield as being “cold” (frosts are rare) this morning it was about 8C and the plane had been parked out overnight - it required priming to within an inch of its life before it started - nearly flattened the battery. It’s not clear to me why, but it has to be primed so much that there is fuel pouring out of the drain. Anyone else have this experience?
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Takeoff is simple enough, but a reasonable bootful of rudder is needed to keep straight, same with climbout. Climb rate is excellent. The engine is very smooth, and cabin noise levels are reasonably low (due mainly to good door seals, I think).
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Circuits are conventional enough, staying below 120 knots is not too hard. Final approach can be quite steep - with full flap this sucker sinks! Nailing the final speed (80) is easy enough and the smoothest landings result from not reducing power in the flare until the wheels touch. Landings were not hard, even my first couple were quite acceptable, but greasers are surprisingly easy. The stall warner is annoying, though, it comes in well above the stall, which means it’s blaring on almost every landing.
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Runway needed for landing is quite short - a short field approach to a grass strip resulted in a full stop about 200m from the boundary fence, without trying really hard. The nose attitude in the flare looks quite flat - until you lower the nose - the nosewheel goes down a long way until it touches! There will be no excuse for breaking a nosewheel strut in this plane! But scraping the tail is something to watch out for, especially if you’re used to flying a Cessna.
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Cruise is as expected - close to book figures - I saw groundspeeds between 150 and 165 knots in cruise, depending on the wind.
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Cruise descents can be done without reducing power, leading to TAS of 180-185 knots in descent without trying too hard.
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The GNS-430s are simply excellent. The Arnav is a waste of panel space and money - it does nothing the GNS-430 doesn’t do and do better.
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The autopilot works well - it is nicely tuned and tracks a GPS course without the hunting that I’ve seen in other planes. The alt hold is solid.
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The seats and seatbelts are excellent - cabin space is great, rear seats have ample legroom and width, visibility is amazing. I flew over 5 hours in the plane today,
That’s probably enough for now. I did over 5 hours flying today and felt great afterwards. I’m going to do some instrument flying in a couple of days time - it will be an excellent instrument platform - it’s a very solid, stable flyer. Has a “big airplane” feel. It was worth the wait!
Cheers, Clyde
- Starting hot is easy - starting cold is not. Although we don’t think of Archerfield as being “cold” (frosts are rare) this morning it was about 8C and the plane had been parked out overnight - it required priming to within an inch of its life before it started - nearly flattened the battery. It’s not clear to me why, but it has to be primed so much that there is fuel pouring out of the drain. Anyone else have this experience?
It is my feeling that the priming simply pressurizes the fuel lines, but does not do an adequate job of getting fuel to the engine. I base that comment on the fact that in my plane the fuel pressure indicator spikes than drops to zero. (Yes, that is with the throttle and mixture open.) What I do find effective is to turn on the boost pump. Crack the throttle. Starting cranking the engine, and if it doesn’t catch right away, I advance the throttle to full open. In doing so I watch the fuel flow gauge to make sure it shows a positive fuel flow rate. I then close the throttle and then crack all while cranking and it normally cranks right up. While it takes a while to explain the process, it does not take a long time. Stated differently, I do NOT engage the starter for more than a normal person would. I am very sensitive to excessive starter use. Hope this helps.
Thanks for the comments. Just one question for you (or anyone else who may know). Are the ARNAV checklists user programmable?
Thanks and enjoy what the rest of us are just drooling over.
Marty (#9 & January?)
- Starting hot is easy - starting cold is not. Although we don’t think of Archerfield as being “cold” (frosts are rare) this morning it was about 8C and the plane had been parked out overnight - it required priming to within an inch of its life before it started - nearly flattened the battery. It’s not clear to me why, but it has to be primed so much that there is fuel pouring out of the drain. Anyone else have this experience?
What makes this even more strange is that it is the exact same thing that Rob and I experienced in Ogden, Utah. However, you now have a different engine from the one we had. Walt’s post on this subject may be hitting the nail on the head as to the cause. If you don’t get fuel into the cylinders, it will never start.
Thanks for the comments. Just one question for you (or anyone else who may know). Are the ARNAV checklists user programmable?
The manual says they are, but the “edit” button seems to be missing from the SR20 checklists.
I called Cirrus and was told that the checklists are not editable, but that if they are deficient in any way, then they would like to know about it.
I can not see how Cirrus has one check list in there training and another in there database? Boy would an attorney have fun with this in the event of a checklist item accident!
I can not see how Cirrus has one check list in there training and another in there database? Boy would an attorney have fun with this in the event of a checklist item accident!
I spoke to someone at Cirrus, and as soon as I mentioned the Wings Aloft checklists, I was informed that Cirrus have not approved them and have no comment to make on them. And yet Wings Aloft are the authorized training provider. Can you say “liability paralysis”?
My first experience was a bad one. Flattened the battery. Cure for cold starts (at least on my powerplant) which have worked ever since (130+ hours so far with some 40 starts -training-) is to select rich, throttle full forward, prime 10-12 seconds, retard and open like 2-3 mm (metric, I guess 1/10th of an inch). Turn the starter and ‘fiddle’ with the throttle within the 3mm to give it the right amount of fuel. Yes, it’s a science.
In my case opening the throttle to the detent (as in the checklist) doesn’t work.
Good luck!
HK (N144CD)
- Starting hot is easy - starting cold is not. Although we don’t think of Archerfield as being “cold” (frosts are rare) this morning it was about 8C and the plane had been parked out overnight - it required priming to within an inch of its life before it started - nearly flattened the battery. It’s not clear to me why, but it has to be primed so much that there is fuel pouring out of the drain. Anyone else have this experience?
What makes this even more strange is that it is the exact same thing that Rob and I experienced in Ogden, Utah. However, you now have a different engine from the one we had. Walt’s post on this subject may be hitting the nail on the head as to the cause. If you don’t get fuel into the cylinders, it will never start.