lucky guy

Guest Discussion
1

I no long can keep the secret. I have now flown with walt. First things first, Walt is probably one of the nicest and the most thoughtful person I have met. He takes time to give a ride to a wanna-be position holder just so I have somthing to dream about. At this time Walt, thank you again! Now for the goods. Awesome,Awesome,Awsome.

This plane is the most stable plane I have ever been in (Mooney,Baron, A36,Arrow,Saratoga sp,Seneca).The plane climbs cruises and moves like no other! Now lets talk about the good parts of the plane! The interior has enough room for Walt 6’5"+ and myself 6’x 3.5’ wide. The panel and avioncs are state of the art. The side stick is very easy and comfortable to fly. So in closing to all the pos holders hang in there it is worth the wait!!! Signed One waiting and dreaming pilot ED…

2

Just to pile on here: the NYT article shrank from 7000 to 4500 words as time went on, so a lot of stuff got dropped, INCLUDING more description of what it is actually like to fly the plane. For those of you who have not had the pleasure, let me second these remarks by Ed Boland.

I have been able to fly a Cirrus three separate times:

  • last spring, when it visited Seattle – and as it happens, the very day before Scott A’s tragic crash;

  • around Lake Superior for an hour in September, with Glenn (one of the Cirrus pilots);

  • over a two-day stretch, 10+ hours in all, as described in the piece.

I am a recent rather than a vastly experienced pilot. I have 250+ hours, IFR rating, virtually all my previous time in 172 and 182RG. But compared to them (and apart from the obvious comfort / beauty / ergonomic factors):

  • very easy to handle with the stick – that really did, as advertised, take about 10 seconds to get used to. Main adjustment is that the stick is fairly sensitive to pitch adjustment;

  • surprisingly lively in climb – when starting from near sea level, as in Seattle, easily goes at 1000+fpm;

  • smooth and stable throughout. Everything about this plane was a pleasure to be around. Jf

3

I no long can keep the secret. I have now flown with walt. First things first, Walt is probably one of the nicest and the most thoughtful person I have met. He takes time to give a ride to a wanna-be position holder just so I have somthing to dream about. At this time Walt, thank you again! Now for the goods. Awesome,Awesome,Awsome.

This plane is the most stable plane I have ever been in (Mooney,Baron, A36,Arrow,Saratoga sp,Seneca).The plane climbs cruises and moves like no other! Now lets talk about the good parts of the plane! The interior has enough room for Walt 6’5"+ and myself 6’x 3.5’ wide. The panel and avioncs are state of the art. The side stick is very easy and comfortable to fly. So in closing to all the pos holders hang in there it is worth the wait!!! Signed One waiting and dreaming pilot ED…

The only reason I was so nice was: (1) he paid for gas and lunch ;-); and (b) I got to fly too.