Latest Useful Load

I spoke with Cirrus the other day and this is what I learned.

Currently, SR-20 aircraft are comming off of the line with an empty weight of 2050lbs plus or minus 20-40lbs. The current Gross weight is 2,900lbs. Sometime later this year, the gross weight will be increased to 3,100lbs.

Therefore, an average SR-20 with an empty weight of 2050lbs today, has a gross weight of 2,900lbs which makes for a useful load of 850lbs.

Later this year, with some small change in hardware, that same SR-20 will have a gross weight of 3,100lbs creating a useful load of 1050lbs.

Since the SR-20’s gross weight will increase while the empty weight, wing, and engine will remain virtually the same, the performance numbers will be changed to reflect the same aircraft with a heavier load. I.E. longer take off run, slower climb, stall speed?, etc.

Tim T

The current issue of Flying has an article that puts the useful load issue in interesting perspective. There’s a big takeout on the new German plane, the Extra 400. It’s billed as a six-seater. It costs at least $1 million. And of course it is an entirely different class of vehicle from the SR20 – pressurized, turbocharged, full ice equipment, weather radar, the works. This is a very high performance plane. But its full-fuel useful load is… 484 pounds.

to compare, Extra 400 versus SR20

  • Cost, $1 million vs $200k, 400% more for Extra

  • Max cruise speed (Extra’s big edge), 235 kts vs 160 kts, 50% more for Extra.

  • Full-fuel useful load, 484 lbs vs at least 460 lbs. (460 is what we get if we take 820 useful load for SR20, minus 60 gals of fuel.) 5% more for Extra. And when Cirrus gets the 150-200lb increase in gross weight, it will shift to a 25-30% edge for the SR20!

The point here is not that Cirrus shouldn’t be working hard on weight. But I find it intriguing that a plane costing literally five times as much should be as close on the controversial payload factor. S. King

1050lb useful load = 4 adults(@190lbs each), 75lbs of luggage, & approx. 500nm flight(3hrs) with reserves. This is just right for me.

Also, the term, “remaining useful load”, should be used when describing how much you can put in the airplane after some loading has been done.

The manufacture could limit the size of the fuel tanks so with full fuel, the remaining useful load would be the right amount for 4 people and luggage. But instead, they give you more flexibility with larger tanks so you can load the airplane the way you want.

I spoke with Cirrus the other day and this is what I learned.

Currently, SR-20 aircraft are comming off of the line with an empty weight of 2050lbs plus or minus 20-40lbs. The current Gross weight is 2,900lbs. Sometime later this year, the gross weight will be increased to 3,100lbs.

Therefore, an average SR-20 with an empty weight of 2050lbs today, has a gross weight of 2,900lbs which makes for a useful load of 850lbs.

Later this year, with some small change in hardware, that same SR-20 will have a gross weight of 3,100lbs creating a useful load of 1050lbs.

Since the SR-20’s gross weight will increase while the empty weight, wing, and engine will remain virtually the same, the performance numbers will be changed to reflect the same aircraft with a heavier load. I.E. longer take off run, slower climb, stall speed?, etc.

Tim T

The current issue of Flying has an article that puts the useful load issue in interesting perspective. There’s a big takeout on the new German plane, the Extra 400. It’s billed as a six-seater. It costs at least $1 million. And of course it is an entirely different class of vehicle from the SR20 – pressurized, turbocharged, full ice equipment, weather radar, the works. This is a very high performance plane. But its full-fuel useful load is… 484 pounds.

to compare, Extra 400 versus SR20

  • Cost, $1 million vs $200k, 400% more for Extra
  • Max cruise speed (Extra’s big edge), 235 kts vs 160 kts, 50% more for Extra.
  • Full-fuel useful load, 484 lbs vs at least 460 lbs. (460 is what we get if we take 820 useful load for SR20, minus 60 gals of fuel.) 5% more for Extra. And when Cirrus gets the 150-200lb increase in gross weight, it will shift to a 25-30% edge for the SR20!

The point here is not that Cirrus shouldn’t be working hard on weight. But I find it intriguing that a plane costing literally five times as much should be as close on the controversial payload factor. S. King

The new Citation CJ1 carries something like 600 pounds with full fuel, as will my aging 172; a recent 58 Baron can do 500 pounds. The big difference with the big guys is that you don’t have to burn off very many minutes of fuel to start putting other people in the seats. If you wanted to compare on useful load, a more fair comparison would be what the endurance and range on each aircraft would be with four FAA-approved adults on board.