Had been on the east coast on a reporting trip for two weeks, and on return to Seattle decided to take another step down the “what does not kill me makes me stronger” path with an aerobatics lesson. Hmmm, I guess “what does not kill me” is the wrong way to introduce an aviation topic. My point is, I find parts of aerobatic training, especially repeated spin recovery, to be literally nauseating but also useful in developing skills. Having pulled myself out of a couple dozen intentional spins, I think I’d have a better chance of getting out of an inadvertent one now. And the loops are actually fun – it’s the corkscrew motion of spins that seems not to agree with me.
On my way out to the Aerobat that I was going to use for this afternoon’s flight, groaning under the weight of the big parachute on my back, I found myself walking past… a spanking new SR20! It was N135CD, whose whereabouts are listed as “unknown” in the Planes list here. I can report that its whereabouts are in fact the Wings Aloft flying club at Boeing Field (BFI) in Seattle. I gather from my friends at Wings Aloft (where I got my IFR training and now rent planes) that the plane will be based there for the foreseeable future. Tragically it won’t be available for rentals – but hey, I wouldn’t make mine available either. Most of the rental planes at Wings Aloft are tied down out of doors, but 135CD will have a hanger.
Although I had seen SR20s several times before, it was a shock to see it there – mainly for the reminder of how different it looks from the standard spam cans that surround it. In context, at the Cirrus factory in Duluth, the SR20 looks like a very spiffy new airplane. Out of context, surrounded by 172s and 182s, it looks like a little space ship.
On casual polling, the CFIs at Wings Aloft were highly enthusiastic about the plane – responsiveness, visibility, avionics, ease of the control stick. Mild complaint about stiffness of the seat. I ran into a mechanic who was grumbling that it was harder to work on than a 172, because you had to get down on your back to get under the wings, and other stuff (he claimed) was harder to get at. I felt mildly sympathetic for him, but only mildly.
So, Seattle may have lost the Kingdome, but it has gained N135CD. May other sightings multiply. Jim Fallows
Is Wings Aloft using this airplane to develope their training classes, or to train instructors?
or have they already developed their course material?
Bernie #296
Had been on the east coast on a reporting trip for two weeks, and on return to Seattle decided to take another step down the “what does not kill me makes me stronger” path with an aerobatics lesson. Hmmm, I guess “what does not kill me” is the wrong way to introduce an aviation topic. My point is, I find parts of aerobatic training, especially repeated spin recovery, to be literally nauseating but also useful in developing skills. Having pulled myself out of a couple dozen intentional spins, I think I’d have a better chance of getting out of an inadvertent one now. And the loops are actually fun – it’s the corkscrew motion of spins that seems not to agree with me.
On my way out to the Aerobat that I was going to use for this afternoon’s flight, groaning under the weight of the big parachute on my back, I found myself walking past… a spanking new SR20! It was N135CD, whose whereabouts are listed as “unknown” in the Planes list here. I can report that its whereabouts are in fact the Wings Aloft flying club at Boeing Field (BFI) in Seattle. I gather from my friends at Wings Aloft (where I got my IFR training and now rent planes) that the plane will be based there for the foreseeable future. Tragically it won’t be available for rentals – but hey, I wouldn’t make mine available either. Most of the rental planes at Wings Aloft are tied down out of doors, but 135CD will have a hanger.
Although I had seen SR20s several times before, it was a shock to see it there – mainly for the reminder of how different it looks from the standard spam cans that surround it. In context, at the Cirrus factory in Duluth, the SR20 looks like a very spiffy new airplane. Out of context, surrounded by 172s and 182s, it looks like a little space ship.
On casual polling, the CFIs at Wings Aloft were highly enthusiastic about the plane – responsiveness, visibility, avionics, ease of the control stick. Mild complaint about stiffness of the seat. I ran into a mechanic who was grumbling that it was harder to work on than a 172, because you had to get down on your back to get under the wings, and other stuff (he claimed) was harder to get at. I felt mildly sympathetic for him, but only mildly.
So, Seattle may have lost the Kingdome, but it has gained N135CD. May other sightings multiply. Jim Fallows
Jim,
Your posts are great fun to read. It’s nice to have a writer on the forum who is also an enthusiastic aviator. Thanks!
After having done it, do you feel the aerobatic training was worthwhile?
BTW, you no doubt noticed MacClellan’s review of your NYT article in the March issue of FLYING. His “what’s the big deal” argument was a little shortsighted, to say the least. It’s true that there are and have been planes around that can complete the SR20’s mission, but he failed to touch on the acquisition and operating costs of those planes - anywhere from 2x to 4x the cost of an SR20.
As well the safety enhancements seemed to escape him: for example, how many of those rides have four point harnesses - which I have long felt should be in all planes - let alone a chute?
Mick
Jim Fallows wrote:
On my way out to the Aerobat that I was going to use for this afternoon’s flight
Aerobatics training in a Aerobat? It’s not exactly an aptly named plane. I have to admit I’ve never tried aerobatics in one, but I have flown one a few times and my lasting impression is how long it takes to climb to any sort of altitude with two on board. How many spins can you do in an hour in Aerobat? Probably about 1/3 the number you could do in a Decathlon.
I can heartily recommend doing the aerobatics training, though. I actually enjoy spins, though I’m still uncomfortable inverted for any length of time (not that that would be a problem for an Aerobat driver!)
It’s a shame the SR20 isn’t aerobatic, but you can’t have everything.
Incidentally, chutes are not required for aerobatic training here in Oz. Anyone know of any instances where an aerobatic instructor and student have had to jump?
Is Wings Aloft using this airplane to develope their training classes, or to train instructors?<
My impression is that this is a Cirrus that happens to live at Wings Aloft (and is, I believe, owned by some local person), rather than being an official part of the Wings Aloft training deal. I know that Wings had developed some course material for Cirrus several months ago – ie, long before this plane arrived – and there is still a constant traffic of Wings CFIs going to and from Duluth to work with the company. It is interesting to look in the schedule book, for planes and CFIs, and see some of the instructors’ time lined out for days at a stretch, with the notation “Cirrus.” There could be some angle to 135CD I’m not aware of, but at face value it’s just some lucky person’s plane.
After having done it, do you feel the aerobatic training was worthwhile?>
Thanks. I wish I enjoyed the actual doing of aerobatics more than I have so far. But the having-done-it does seem valuable – above all, for spin recovery. I had read and heard all the stuff about what a spin is like and how you get out of it, but it was vastly different to go through them for real. Going through a wide variety of spins – power on, power off, right, left, one-turn, three-turn – has had two tremendous confidence-building effects. If I ever were to encounter one for real, it wouldn’t be the first time, so presumably there would be less terror effect of watching the ground twirl before your eyes as you head for it nose-down. And, I now know first-hand how amazingly effective the get-out-of-a-spin procedure actually is. You slam on that opposite rudder, and the spin really does stop!
I don’t think I’ll do any more spin practice, because five or six in a row can make me feel sick, but I’ll do some more loops and rolls.
BTW, you no doubt noticed MacClellan’s review of your NYT article in the March issue of FLYING. His “what’s the big deal” argument was a little shortsighted, to say the least.>
I stopped getting this mag a while ago, because it seemed always to be touting planes that had no connection to my amateur flying life (the newest Citation or whatever). I have found Flight Training, IFR, and AOPA Pilot to be more worthwhile for me. But I heard about this column and checked it out. My two reactions:
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there is a kind of huffy tone taken by any established insider/veteran when an amateur/outsider dabbles in his field. I understand this tone; I adopt it sometimes myself.
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people who have spent a very long time in the field, like this guy, may have become inured to something that is very obvious to newcomers: namely, how CRUDDY and sub-standard the whole rental-airplane experience is, if you haven’t been indoctrinated to think that the C172 represents the summit of engineering excellence. Yes, I recognize all the merits of the 172. But it is amazing to think that its design is closer in time to the Wright Brothers’ first flight than to, say, the deliver of the first SR20. All the rest of the high-tech world has made amazing leaps in the last 25 and 10 and 2 years. People who are veterans in the flying world have, I think, rationalized away the stagnation of this business – and therefore are startled when an outsider says, “Why are these planes all so ugly and uncomfortable?” This is the crucial breakthrough the Brothers K of Duluth have made.
Jim Fallows wrote:
On my way out to the Aerobat that I was going to use for this afternoon’s flight
Aerobatics training in a Aerobat? It’s not exactly an aptly named plane. I have to admit I’ve never tried aerobatics in one, but I have flown one a few times and my lasting impression is how long it takes to climb to any sort of altitude with two on board. How many spins can you do in an hour in Aerobat? Probably about 1/3 the number you could do in a Decathlon.
I can heartily recommend doing the aerobatics training, though. I actually enjoy spins, though I’m still uncomfortable inverted for any length of time (not that that would be a problem for an Aerobat driver!)
It’s a shame the SR20 isn’t aerobatic, but you can’t have everything.
Incidentally, chutes are not required for aerobatic training here in Oz. Anyone know of any instances where an aerobatic instructor and student have had to jump?
My favorite part of the Watsonville (California) Air Show is when Amelia Reid (of the family that built Reid-Hillview airport in San Jose) does her aerobatic routine in her Aerobat. After endless routines with Extra 300s and Pitts biplanes screaming by, along comes this slow, graceful, low routine in a 150, done by a lady who must be in her 70s. She still instructs at RHV.
Aerobatics training in a Aerobat? It’s not exactly an aptly named plane.>
Now now now. It’s what the local club has on hand. Yes, it does take an eternity to get to a usable altitude for spins, but it’s all part of the learning experience. My real objection is that it’s optimized for jockey-sized people in height as well as weight. When I have the parachute on my back, and the seat pushed as far rear as it will go, my knees are still up at yoke level.
Incidentally, chutes are not required for aerobatic training here in Oz. Anyone know of any instances where an aerobatic instructor and student have had to jump?<
Another illustration that life is saner in Oz. (Like the charming democratic practice of having passengers ride in the front seat of the taxi, which is way more comfortable. Hope you have not become too up-to-date for that.) Given how cramped the plane is, it is very hard for me to imagine that, in a spin gone bad, I’d be able to get out of the damned thing, and use the parachute, in time. I think I’d have better luck with a whole-airplane chute.
Now now now. It’s what the local club has on hand.
I figured that - and my tongue was tucked in my cheek as I wrote 
But I do think you’ll find aerobatics more enjoyable in a more suitable aircraft. I don’t mean an Extra or Pitts, but something like a Decathlon. It shares with the 150 the fact that it excels in its intended purpose.
Another illustration that life is saner in Oz. (Like the charming democratic practice of having passengers ride in the front seat of the taxi, which is way more comfortable. Hope you have not become too up-to-date for that.)
Absolutely not. Climbing into the back of a taxi is a definite no-no for a single male passenger.
But we do have our share of strange regulations, though not nearly so many as the Brits, who insist on a fire-fighing service being on standby at any airfield where primary training is being conducted, but will not allow BRS chutes in ultralights. Perhaps the SR20 will change their views (see how neatly I got back onto topic??)
Clyde