In retrospect I wish I had bought a 6-pack g1 instead of my g2. The PFD is nice but definitely not a must-have.
I am very satisfied with our decision to buy a G2 7 years ago (6 weeks before they came out with the G3 Grrrrr) and there was, and still is, an elitism to fly the very latest and greatest.
I would love to have the G3 if for no other reason, than the extra 11 gallons fuel capacity. I enjoy and use the Avidyne avionics, and for my flight missions, it does all i need. I DO LOVE the glass panels. Today, If i had to choose, i would buy the latest version i could reasonably afford.
However, i am often reminded and even amazed, that the G1’s fly just as well as the G5’s, there are only slight differences between them in flight.
Ryan - Too many variables to consider to give you an exact answer but I can share with you what I did fairly recently…
This was my first aircraft purchase and I wanted to pick up a cirrus for IFR training and to cut my teeth on a high performance aircraft (was flying 172s and DA40s prior) and was deciding between a late G2 fully loaded or an early G1 that I could “customize”. I ended up going the Gen 1 route as it is one of the greatest values in GA - caveat - you need to do the homework to find a solid well maintained airframe/engine. I ended up purchasing a 2003 SR22NA (Avidyne) this past May and I have been pleased with my decision.
Post purchase I had Ross @ Midwest buff and re-stripe the exterior and upgrade the entire interior. I am putting in the DFC90 auto pilot and updating the Garmin 430s to GTN650 for the WAAS capability.
The paint/restripe, interior upgrade (already finished), autopilot upgrade, and WAAS upgade (scheduled for next month) will end up costing approx $+/-50K all in. Which means I have a “fairly” modern glass panel, WAAS equiped, TKS equiped, customized interior, aircraft for Under $250K that does 177kts on 15 galls an hour and has a useful load of 1100lbs.
Not too Shabby. It’s not as sexy as GEN5 FIKI but it is still plenty sexy (biased opinion of course) - and the all in acquisition cost was also about $400K less [:D]
Oh and SAVVY for pre-buy is a great idea. They rejected 4 (just from log book reviews alone) before we found my current bird. Was impressed with their operation.
PM me if you want some details on operating costs etc. Happy hunting - enjoy the experience!
This is exactly the sort of “stunt” I want to pull off. I’ve been trolling long enough to see that fantastic planes come up every week and there are several on my outer marker that have come down in price circa the amount of money needed to add glass while I’ve been watching.
It’s not that 30-40k is a deal breaker, but no one likes to blow that kind of scratch just for lack of looking around.
I also have to concede that glass just isn’t safer. It feels safer, it looks safer, but the data can’t back it.
I live in FL where IFR often means fluffy white cloud layers, and no one with a brain will fly in the actual “weather” we get here- so to the previous point this is 100% “want to have” not “need to have.”
Having said all of the above, I think in terms of “wow, that’s about 3 years of operating costs cheaper,” and there are some six packs for sale in airports I am flying to for training.
These are great “problems” to be dealing with 
Karan, et al… Great info! It looks like I am on the verge of a purchase on a 2004 SR22. I plan to use (or at least engage) Savvy for the pre-inspection purchase. Since I am new to this gig, I would appreciate any suggestion on insurance and most importantly… what my monthly costs (approximately) will be. From what I can read, this aircraft will service my flight needs and I am not interested in paying much more than low 200s.
I am in the North San Diego area and if I do not have to fly in IFR, why would I? Landing on a CVN in virtually zero zero was enough for me for this lifetime. [:|]
Please send me an email to hyss757@yahoo.com if you have suggestions. Thank you!!
While this is on the Guest Forum, go into the Members Only portion of the site and click on the COPA Member Advatnage page: https://www.cirruspilots.org/copa/member/member_advantage/default.aspx
Look on the right side for the Arthur J. Gallagher brokerage, the new name for long-time COPA Supporter NationAir Insurance. They’ll set you up; we have a great deal with underwriter Starr Aviation. Ask about that and what you need to do to qualify.
Be safe and have fun,