G5 VS. G2 CRUISE SPEEDS

Hello all - thinking about an upgrade to a G5. Our G2 GTS gets 180 kts true at Best Power and 18.3 GPH. 170 LOP.

Wondering what speed penalty, if any, G5,6 owners are seeing with EVS, Fiki, air, etc?

Thanks. RJ

RJ:

My G6 vs my G2 negligible. Maybe a couple of knots, but other factors, wind etc. more important. I plan based on same parameters and probably burn a couple of tenths of a gallon more per hour and fly at the same speed. The AC is worth every bit of it.

Gil

Gil, many thanks for your response! Does your G6 have the EVS? Worth it?

THanks Jeff

I have a G3 with every speed reduction option there is. 164 at 25 LOP when cool and 159 when hot or heavy. I would not get EVS unless regularly flying into small strips at night.

I can barely get 170 at best power. FIKI, AC, EVS and the wide chord composite prop.

2013 G5 GTS with EVS, FIKI, and aluminum prop. typically plan for 170 lean of peak but I will see up to 174 at times. Fastest with ROP 180. I fly some G2ā€˜s and they seem the fastest for some reason about 2 to 3 knots faster than the G5.

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Jeff,

Our G6 runs 178 / 179KTAS on ROP or 167k LOP at 8,000ā€™

EVS is part of the GTS package, but i would NOT get it again (if it were not part of a package). I have used it once, and only to see what it does.

Wow. Thatā€™s only 10-12kt over my SR20G3. Glad to have the $400k in my pocket.

2016 G5ā€¦only FIKI and AC. Ordered without EVS and all the other extras like sat phones. It is even white so no extra weight for fancy paint jobs :).

LOP (-50) I get about 162 knots TAS. ROP (which I never run) its just slightly over 170ā€¦might be higher if Iā€™d commit and let it sit. I donā€™t really reach published speeds and figure Iā€™m 3-5 kts below them.

On the other hand, the plane is so comfortable and capable that I usually wish a flight lasted a little longer!

Ha! That thought has entered my mind once or twice. If speed were the only consideration I would have probably gone Mooney. Or stayed in my 206 at the other end of the spectrum. I generally fly 6-9,000 MSL and 65% (at 2460-2520 RPM) at 25deg LOP.

Itā€™s the slowest SR22 in the fleet but itā€™s also the first piston airplane Iā€™m happy to sit in and find myself looking for reasons to fly.

Kinda surprised that people donā€™t use EVS more, i have used it almost every night flight so far to help dodge clouds. Just last week I was below a cloud deck that had scattered freezing rain, I could see it on the camera and just went around as necessary. I donā€™t have much summer flying with it yet but Iā€™m sure it would still be pretty useful.

I just donā€™t fly that much at night;

As an aside, you will get FAR more information on the regular forums. Many members donā€™t even read the Guest Forum.

But here are a couple of observations about speeds in general which show why such generational comparisons are a bit problematic. To begin, if you take two identical airframes and then use precisely the same power to fly them the TAS obtained will vary with multiple factors including gross weight (the heavier loaded plane will be slower), the distribution of the weight (the plane with the farther aft CG will have a higher TAS all else being equal), the altitude at which the plane is flown (more correctly the air density at which the plane is flown assuming the same power) etc.

Now thatā€™s for identical airframes. When you have differences in the airframes the issue becomes more confused. A fully loaded G5 weighs 200 pounds more than a fully loaded G2 and therefore for the same power will be a little slower assuming both have the same cg position. The difference in climb rates will be greater as lighter weight translates into a better climb.

Then take a TKS wing versus a clean wing. All else being equal the clean wing will be faster. The list goes on and thatā€™s why direct generational comparisons are fraught with hazards.

Finally, the range of TAS people report usually runs between 160-175 Knots. Assuming no wind that translates into a difference of 6.4 minutes on a 200 mile flight or as much as 22.5 minutes on a 700 mile flight between the 160 knot airplane versus the 175 knot one. So while pilots tend to obsess over a few knots, the practical difference is really quite minimal.

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And to add to Jerryā€™s excellent list, engines run different as well. Injector tuning, for example, can make a pretty significant difference when LOP. 10 knots or more.

Donā€™t forget airplane cleanliness and relative humidity. Mine is 5 knots faster when clean (maybe twice a year) and 3 knots slower when in the clouds.

However, this injector tuning is intriguing. Is this the same as lower GAMI spread = faster TAS or is there something else to ā€œtuneā€?

Oof. Not right. Check with Jim Barker.

Not Roger, but yes, thats what I think heā€™s saying.

Yes, lower GAMI spread. 25 LOP simply means the last cylinder to peak is 25 LOP. If the first 5 have to be a 100 LOP to let that happen you have a major power disadvantage.

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Roger,

I know if I search I can get this answer but out of an abundance of laziness: My Perspective lean assist has a bimodal ā€œof-peakā€ meaning that if lean to first cylinder to peak an enrichen, it measures deg from peak from the first cylinder to peak. If you continue to lean past this first peak, it eventually switches to the last cylinder to peak, which is obviously a hotter number. I appreciate that GAMI spread is the fuel flow between but for Red Fin purposes, is the Red Fin ROP measurement from first cylinder to peak or last cylinder to peak?

Am I supposed to be 175 cooler than the first to peak (20-21+ GPH) or something more like POH best power fuel flows?

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Jake,

You are supposed to X degrees LOP of the last cylinder to peak. X varies as altitude changes. I use the red fin to establish X.