Damn those process improvements! It appears that my SR-20 will be delivered six months sooner than I’d expected. Which means that I need to make actual decisions now. (Writing checks is easier compared to deciding - stormscope or no stormscope!)
Reading the public postings (as I’ve done faithfully since before COPA was formed) has helped a great deal. Still, I continue to have questions regarding the viability of different configurations, options, etc.
This is surely a lot to ask, but is there a kind and knowledgeable soul that could act as a sounding board for me? What would be most helpful for me would be to talk to a low-time pilot (I have ~200 hours, most recently in a C-182) who’s been through the purchase and delivery process relatively recently.
Hi Sanjay
And welcome to the club…You have made a wise decision. I picked up my 20 “c” model with Sandel EHSI, and stormscope on Nov 12 2001. At that time I had a two week old private cert and about 100 hours. Today I have about 350 hours and a 22 on the way with Sandel, stormscope and TCAS. I would be happy to chat…cell 903-819-9087
Sanjay,
Welcome to the club of owners. I second the recommendation to join COPA. There is more info exchanged on the Member’s Forum than here. As far as airplane specs, I’ll take a shot at giving you the benefit of a few observations.
The Avidyne MFD is the way to go (if you still get a choice). Get the engine monitoring package.
If you live in the eastern half of the country or you expect to fly there, get the Stormscope.
If you fly in congested airspace, get the Skywatch.
Get the Sandel HSI if you are IFR rated or intend to be unless you want to take a chance with the notoriously problematic Century HSI.
Fortunately, they all come standard with air conditioning, two doors :-).
Get the stuff you will need to check and inflate your tires right away and check them every few weeks. Make it a convenient process (if that’s possible).
Roger, what a fantastic journey you must have had from Nov to now flying several hundred hours in your SR20!! Based upon your posting and several other Cirrus owners that I’ve met, the low-time pilots who get into an SR2X sure seem to fly a lot. I do. Got an instrument rating earlier than I expected and have flown across the country much more than I expected.
Sanjay, if you have not read the Members forum, then you are in for a very big surprise at the amount of information shared among COPA members. The community is truly amazing – the wisdom, humor, and collaboration among COPA members convinced me to buy an SR22 without ever flying one.
Couple of thoughts on options: seriously consider how your flying will change when you can a) go faster with greater economy over longer distances, b) develop navigation skills suitable for long cross-country trips through complex airspaces, c) appreciate the capabilities of a superb IFR platform.
Greg
My SR20 is currently being ferried to Australia and was very interested in your post. I’ve read the manual and couldn’t find much about the things I need to check for tyre pressure. If you could fill us in, I would appreciate your advice. I have seen previous posts that recommended using a ruler to measure how flat the tyre is. Is that all? What else is there?
Tony,
Using a ruler does not seem to be the way to go from what I have read on the forum. Apparently, there is precious little difference in the wheelpants’ height above the floor when the tire is very underinflated. There have been several threads on this issue in the past few months. You should be able to find them using the search function, or if there is someone else more skilled than I out there that can put a link up for you, that would be better.
The difficulty in checking the tire pressures stems from two factors. First, the valve stem is not oriented at a convenient angle and second, you have to access it through a hole that is only about 1 1/2" in diameter.
Anyway, I use a ball foot type air chuck and a straight in type chuck with the shrader valve on the end of a 6" long solid tube. I have to use the ball foot type for the mains and the straight in type for the nose (or vice versa). Others have said they were able to get a single gizmo at an RV store that worked. It is also advisable to pick up some tire paint at an automotive store so you can place a mark on the tire at the bottom when the valve lines up with the access hole. This makes the whole process much simpler when you are doing it by yourself. I would pick up one of those portable, electric air compressors for about $60-70 available at just about anyplace that sells automotive accessories.
Finally, you will need to either put a little tape over the plugs for the access holes or use some tape around their circumference where they snap in to the pants. If you don’t, they will eventually depart the plane when you fly. I understand they are just ‘panel plugs’ available at your local hardware store, but I have checked a couple where I live and I can’t find any large enough. Cirrus sent us several before we figured out the ‘solution’. We have been using white electrical tape to hold ours in.