In reply to:
Many SR22 drivers spend most of their time around 170k at 12 to 14 gph
That’s a significant improvement. Does running LOP also reduce fuel consumption by up to 33% in the SR20?
Keith MacDonald
Dear Everyone,
Firstly I would like to thank everyone here for their time taken to post the comments which have all been duly noted. I thought that what I was asking was a bit out of the ordinary but looking at the responses a lot of my thoughts seem to be on the ‘right lines’ possibly a bit premature decision wise to buy one but there IS plenty of time.
That said, I have looked at the other aircraft and have to say Cirrus is King! I have decided to complete my training on the schools C172 and move from there a stage at a time and at a pace I feel comfortable with in a few months time. I will now join COPA and ‘see you all on the other side of the fence soon’.
Many thanks again to you all and particularly Ian for the ‘final’ deciding telephone advice tonight.
John
In reply to:
That’s a significant improvement. Does running LOP also reduce fuel consumption by up to 33% in the SR20?
Yes indeed!
Jim Knollenberg SR20 1281 N814
In reply to:
Yes indeed!
Jim Knollenberg SR20 1281 N814
Excellent news! That would put the SR20’s fuel consumption nearly on a par with my car - allowing for shorter journeys, as the crow flies.
Keith MacDonald
Keith
I fly LOP regulary, when I am in no hurry, as I think its better for the engine, and somehow the lower fuel burn is satisfying. Its also safer if you want to arrive with more fuel in the tanks for any reason.
However I’m not convinced you save much money really.
For example, I recently did a flight to south germany, it was about a 3 hours flight, in our SR22 N147VC based at Denham
It was an IFR flight so we were able to cruise quite high, normally between FL90 and FL110.
I flew initially LOP, and was happy, then after about 30 mins, I realised I probably needed to get there sooner rather than later (operational reasons) and changed to
ROP.
Looking on my EMAX fuel management system I could tell once i was ROP that I would bun an extra 7 USG before I landed. A significant difference, at £4 its £28 worth of fuel.
However I was at the begining of the trip, and it made a significant different to our arrival time, we would get in 23 mins earlier!
Is £28 worth the 23 mins? Well my dry shareholder hourly rate for the SR22 is £66/hour + VAT. (and thats low believe me based on 400 hours a year).
That 23 mins proportion of a dry flying hour is worth nearly £30 (especialy when the VAT is included). So did I save money? probably not.
For me flying LOP/ROP is an operational decision not a financial one. My default is headwinds - ROP, tail winds - LOP, if range or fuel reserves are an issue, then LOP.
(OK lets not ignite a LOP/ROP debate here!)
Ian
John,
Great! Go ahead, make a rational decision and make the rest of us who want a Cirrus regardless of how “more capable than our mission requires” and “how many hours we have” look weak.
Brian
That’s what I did, I highly recommend it.