I am a student pilot with approximately 30 hours. I need opinions on which plane to fly for the next 100-150 hours to best prepare me for the SR20. Is the SR20 too much airplane at 100-150 hours? Any ideas or suggestions?
Steve
I am a student pilot with approximately 30 hours. I need opinions on which plane to fly for the next 100-150 hours to best prepare me for the SR20.
No contest - get some time in a Grumman Tiger. It is somewhat less stable and lighter on the controls than the SR20, but has similar landing characteristics, and the speed is closer to the SR20 than a 172 for example.
Alternatively, if you can’t get time in a Tiger, try one of the higher performance PA-28 series, like a Cherokee 180 or an Arrow. Again the landing characteristics are closer to the SR20 than Cessnas.
I am a student pilot with approximately 30 hours. I need opinions on which plane to fly for the next 100-150 hours to best prepare me for the SR20. Is the SR20 too much airplane at 100-150 hours? Any ideas or suggestions?
Steve
Steve: I agree with everyone’s comments who follow, with one addition: the exact plane you fly is less important the the numbers of hours and type of experience you get. The really important thing is to get a lot of experience and do as much learning as possible. When your delivery of an SR20 is approaching, see if you can get a few hours in a rental SR20 and if not, try flying the tiger. (It is always advisable to get your first few bumps and grinds in someone else’s airplane.)
You seem as though you are in the market to buy a plane that you will sell in a couple of years when the Cirrus arrives. If this is the case, look at your needs and select a plane based on that.
Tigers are good planes, an excellent value and in many ways meet similar mission profiles to the SR20. But, if a clean one is not available, buy what works for you and don’t worry too much about the transition. The more experience you have, thee easier it will be.
Marty
I am a student pilot with approximately 30 hours. I need opinions on which plane to fly for the next 100-150 hours to best prepare me for the SR20. Is the SR20 too much airplane at 100-150 hours? Any ideas or suggestions?
Steve
i’m a 500 hour asel/commercial/instrument pilot. i don’t think you’ll have any problem with the sr20. as others have said, if you had it now, you could do the rest of your training in it. i found it easy to fly. it took zero time to get used to the side stick.
my advice for the time between now and when you get your sr20: have fun and stay safe and don’t sweat trying to prepare for the sr20. now matter what you fly now, you’re likely to love the sr20. you might find it too easy in vfr.
I am a student pilot with approximately 30 hours. I need opinions on which plane to fly for the next 100-150 hours to best prepare me for the SR20.
No contest - get some time in a Grumman Tiger. It is somewhat less stable and lighter on the controls than the SR20, but has similar landing characteristics, and the speed is closer to the SR20 than a 172 for example.
I agree completely with this. The Tiger’s ground handling characteristics are also similar: castering nosewheel. It is also a lot more fun to fly than the PA28 series so those 150 hr will be more enjoyable. The Tiger and SR20 are probably the sweetest landing airplanes I have flown.
They are both right on about the plane to practice in. I just wanted to let you know there are two pilots I know of (don’t know them personally) who got into SR20’s right after their ticket. One trained for his private in it. It is not too much airplane given some practice and training from an instuctor, something I think you would probably do for any new type of plane you fly. The single-lever prop throttle means you are not dealing with a separate prop control. The side-stick takes all of about 5 minutes to get used too. The only thing that was different to me as a low-time pilot was how steep it approached when you pulled the power to idle, and the fact that it doesn’t slow down as easily as say a beat up rental 172… That being said, Cirrus has done a amazing job of making an airplane that is quite easy to fly - I think it lands nicer than a 172 - and it should not present any problems.
Dean
I would agree, I am a low time IFR student with a private licence. I accumulated about 80hrs in the late 70’s. Then got back into it about 2.5yrs ago. Early this summer with about 60 “recient” hours I was able to fly a SR20 in less than ideal conditions, with the rep in the front seat, my 7yr old son AND my flight instructor in the back, I felt very comfortable, the work load was much less than the brand new {1998} 172R’s we have at our flight school. My wife who at the time had about 5hrs total, made her first landing EVER from the right seat of the 20 demo. Granted she is a much better “stick” than I, but that landing in a 10knt 30 degree cross wind was made to look easy. My 2 landings while not as pure as my wife were smooth. So, long story short the SR20 seems to be a very easy airplane to fly and even train in.