Thinking of buying a Cirrus? My advice is to think again and ask them about after-sales service before you put down any money. I have a damaged prop and enquired about a replacement in mid January. Believe it or not, even though there are over 1,000 a/c delivered, Cirrus do not keep a SINGLE replacement prop in stock. Delivery time on a replacement from Hartzell in 10 -12 weeks. What kind of company sells you an aircraft for a third of a million Dollars, then doesen’t even keep spare parts in stock??? Seems like the attitude is get the money out of new customers, then screw them! Imagine buying a new sports car, then finding out that the manufacturer doesn’t even support the product or stock spares? So, think hard before you make the same mistake that I did! Please would anyone else who has had a similar experience with Cirrus not being able to supply spares let me know, I believe this problem is wide-spread. It is time we put pressure on Cirrus to look after their customers not only BEFORE they get our money off us, but AFTERWARDS too.
Timothy,
Just curious, is this a warranty claim? Normally damage is not covered. If it is not a warranty claim, why deal with Cirrus. Most folks with a damaged prop send it off to a propeller overhaul facility. My experience with those facilities in the US is a 7 to 10 day turn around.
Bob
TurboWx
Just my .02 cents here (being an SR22 drive)
No way you can expect Cirrus to carry extra Props! That is a big-huge item, and that, nope.
There is a difference between not carrying Spares vs carrying spare Props. Cirrus carries tons of spares. Trust me, I know! My Cirrus Service Center always says “do you want it next day air (extra) or regular ground”.
Would the sports car dealership have a whole new frame for the car if the frame was bent.
I think not.
Sorry not to agree with you, but, I don’t think you are going to find any G/A manufacturer that carries extra Props.
Safe Flying !
JM
Big things, take a while.
Try:
They seem like nice people. I bought a Sensenich prop from them for my Tiger. They’re not far from me if I can help out with logistics if need be.
Timothy, we feel for your situation. Several others have had delays in getting spare parts for many of the reasons given in other posts – lean manufacturing, just-in-time production, integrated designs, etc.
In reply to:
Imagine buying a new sports car, then finding out that the manufacturer doesn’t even support the product or stock spares? So, think hard before you make the same mistake that I did!
Agreed – think hard! [:)] Sports cars are not airplanes. Racing cars are more like airplanes. And if you bought a race car, then you are very unlikely to get spare parts unless your ordered them at time of delivery!!!
As a first-time airplane owner when I bought my Cirrus, I worried a lot about these kinds of things. Mainly, I realized that I did not have any experience with the aviation marketplace, how it operated, what its costs were, and how to get things fixed when I needed to. That is the best part of your post – think hard, communicate clearly, and hold people to their promises.
Cheers
Rick
p.s. Your post reminds me that I have a lower cowl sitting at the Service Center that has never been installed – for over a year now! It required the drilling of each screw hole to match my plane, and would take so long that I deferred the work. Then forgot about it [:$] Some spare parts take more field installation work than I realized!
You said that “the manufacturer doesn’t even support the product or stock spares”. I think you meant that they don’t happen to have exactly what you want when you need it. That can happen. I wouldn’t think that major components like props, engines etc are the kinds of things they get alot of call for, hence the lack of inventory.
But, I can tell you, they have had every part I’ve needed available immediately, every time.
If the prop is “damaged” I’m assuming that it’s not a warranty consideration (correct me if I’m wrong) which sounds to me like you shouldn’t have to buy it directly from Cirrus. Why not go to a prop shop and try to buy it there?
Thanks for all your comments. Am travelling in South Africa and away from computer/or poor internet connection a lot of the time - hence the delay in replying. GOOD NEWS - Ian Bentley spent a number of days trying to contact me after I left a message for someone to call me, but again, was unable to get hold of me, despite trying for 4 days. To cut a long story short - he said sure I have a prop for you and I will ship it today!!! It is expected this week. Seems that the Cirrus authorised repair shop in the UK ASSUMED that prop would not be available from Cirrus, so tried to order from Hartzell instead, due to previous experience with getting a prop, which was not available from Cirrus. Ian confirmed that they had had problems with spares in the past, but believed that they were now sorted out. So, MY APOLOGIES to Cirrus, the fault was not theirs and once they knew what was going on, they sorted it out immediately. Clearly, the blame for giving me incorrect information lies with their agent. I guess when I finally get to see my aeroplane again, the love affair will be re-kindled.For those of you who are curious, the damage occurred when I forgot to remove the tow bar after checking tyre pressures (which we have to do on a hard stand as we park on grass at Denham), then taxying over bump in the grass which pushed the tow bar into the prop (nasty sound!!!). I have a suggestion - make yourself a tag of some sort which says something like TOWBAR ATTACHED TO WHEEL and stick it on the instrument panel every time you use the tow bar, to avoid making the same dumb mistake I made. (Or just make a copy of the attached picture and do the same - you won’t ever forget that way!) Safe taxying to you all!!!
McCauley has a certified prop for the SR22…
In reply to:
Â… I don’t think you are going to find any G/A manufacturer that carries extra Props.
I don’t think I would go that far. You may find some that do indeed carry spares. The reason being is that not all manufacturers are building aircraft under “just in time” inventory techniques. This how Cirrus does it. The major components come into the factory just in time to join the que for production. This not only saves money on inventory, but in the case of Cirrus also saves square and cubic feet on space to stock these components.
I wouldnÂ’t expect Cirrus to stock propellers any more than I would expect them to stock engines. Interestingly enough, it would be easier for them to stock an engine because they donÂ’t change manufacturers of engines, however they do switch between the two big prop companies. The long lead times you have been given are a result of the prop manufacturers ability to produce props, not Cirrus.
While doing and oil change with Ed Benson Saturday, we enjoyed the company of a Bonanza owner who admired our aircraft. He made the excellent observation that if you add the price of the Avionics, Engine, Prop, Parachute, PFD, autopilot, etc. you almost get the airplane for free!! I realize this is an apples/oranges comparison but flaming the Cirrus organization for operating in a lean mode (LOP to some) provides enough savings to make the purchase of a Cirrus attractive when compared to the rest of the “traditional” manufacturers.
The downside to that process is the occasional wait for a part. We could have bought a Raytheon product and likely gotten parts more quickly, more expensively, and paid a premium price for an aircraft that performs similarly.
Mr. Nash received a couple of good suggestions; validating the value of his COPA membership. My expectation is that Cirrus generally underpromises and overdelivers. I hope that Mr Nash gets his prop soon and can return to being a “fan” himself.
Having just come away from 13 years of owning a Raytheon product, I can tell you Cirrus is way ahead of Raytheon on every front of customer service.
Everything is relative. In my four month experience with Cirrus they beat Raytheon hands down. If you don’t own a jet you are at the bottom of the food chain at Raytheon.
Many of the posts here are about some new thing Cirrus or Avidyne has not delivered. No problem on the issue at Raytheon. There is never anything new. They deliver the same airplane every year.
Cirrus could do some things better, but for half the new cost we are getting a better aircraft, and so far significantly better customer service.
Next time I complain about some Cirrus issue, someone remind me of what I just said. At times I forget.
Bob
TurboWx
I think they should just have a loaner plane for you! Kind of like Lexus and BMW! Mike, next time you talk to Alan, tell him about this idea. Every SC could have an SR20 and SR22 for folks to use as loaners. Just let him know that they can raise the price of the new G2’s by $50,000 each to cover this. 
I know Tim very well, as his SR22 is one of the 4 Cirrus aircraft based at Denham, our home base in North West London.
We have flown together, quite a bit! I can see both sides here, I agree that a Prop is a big lead item, and 12 weeks may just be a fact of life, but my heart also goes out to a friend who absolutely loved his Cirrus, but now is being frustrated to the point that he feels the need to make a public post like this and leave our family.
I spoke to him today (before I saw this post), and he is at his witts end, going crazy with frustration.
He has had a string of bad luck, 3 weeks after he had the plane, while being trained by the guy who had flown his plane over, he lost his first prop. The instructor, unfamilier with UK grass/tarmac strips used the wrong technique to get over a ridge and ruined the first prop with stones from the field. Cirrus pulled a prop off the production line some how and got him a new one within a few weeks.
This time a silly ground accident while taxiing across the field at night cost him his second prop. Boy my heart goes out to a guy who loved his plane, and has this happen to him.
Currently Tim just needs help getting his plane fixed. Lets all do our best.
- Tim - until your plane is fixed, get checked out with John Page for currency, then you can fly Victor Charlie or Charlie Delta as much as you like and just pay the fuel until your prop is here.
- Cirrus - if you are listening please give him a call, and look long and hard at the Pile of Propellers I saw when I got my factory tour, and see whether you can divert one to the UK next week.
- COPA - continue with your advise as to how a prop with FOD damage can be fixed or otherwise made operational earlier, or look around in the US dealerships to see if you can find a spare SR22 prop that Tim can have.
Lets make COPA pull together and save Tim from a fate worse than death (selling his Cirrus and buying a lesser plane from a company with nothing else to do but answer the telephone.)
Ian
Tim: I am glad to hear that your anguish is close to being over and I’m happy to hear that Cirrus Design came through for you. As surprised as you were that CD didn’t have any spare props, I’m equally surprised that the manufacturer didn’t either. You gotta figure that prop strikes and minor blade damage is not all that uncommon and the the manufacturer’s production scheduling is not that tight, especially when given Cirrus’s sales pace, this has gotta be one of the most common props they make for new aircraft.
From what Ian posted elsewhere in this thread, you, or your plane has had a string of bad luck. Have you had to tear the engine down after each prop strike? What is the tolerance for that sort of thing?
So maybe now you’ll consider editing your original post to refect the fact that maybe Cirrus isn’t such a bad company after all?
It does come across as being pretty harsh, as I said earlier.
In reply to:
I have a suggestion - make yourself a tag of some sort which says something like TOWBAR ATTACHED TO WHEEL
I have a better suggestion - never leave the tow bar attached to the plane. If you have just used the tow bar and expect to use it again before starting the engine, by all means leave it on the ground next to the wheel, but disconnect it. You are far from the first pilot to taxi with a tow bar still attached - some have even taken off with it still on!! Making a sign for the instrument panel won’t help if you forget to use it, and would take more time to fuss with than removing and re-attaching the towbar anyway.
Hey…for taking a prop strike, I’d say that towbar is none the worse for wear. Little orange paint and it will be good as new! 
Since I suffer from a few age related maladies(all of which I can’t remember [:)]), I always lean out the door and LOOK at the nosewheel, right before I yell “clear prop”.
that prop still looks like it would be good for about 75% effeciency. go have some fun!