Would anyone of you Cirrus lovers accept these problems with your car? I think it is ridiculous that we have to have this kind of discussion about a 250,000 $ machine. My SR22 didn’t start for a while when I wanted to test fly it at the European dealer. Even if that’s also true for a lot of GA airplanes, it’s completely inacceptable.
ralph
Good, Mike…very, very good…you get ‘Honorable Mention’…and a blue ribbon for the artwork.
In reply to:
…you get ‘Honorable Mention’…and a blue ribbon for the artwork.
Charlie,
Thanks - but I can’t take any credit for the artwork. That goes to “Anna”, a second grade student at the Terryville Road School in Port Jefferson Station, NY; she drew it after a visit to the Museum of Natural History.
Her caption to the picture reads:
Some dinosaurs had sharp teeth and some had flat teeth. The ones with the sharp teeth ate meat and the ones with the flat teeth ate plants.
I think “Anna” may be sharper than those teeth. For sure, she’s a MUCH better artist than I’ll ever be.
Mike.
Years ago I heard some kids explaining why dinosaurs are extinct
" In olden times when the earth was flat, the dinosaurs fell off the edge and that was that"
Art:
If you have to replace the battery, you might want to check into a sealed cell unit. In the -22, the stock battery is a(Gill G-243) and the sealed version (G-243S). I think you get more crank hrs if I remember correctly. Worth checking out for your -20. I think you also need a 337 for this swap out.
David Schwietert 203 RF
I think this hole warrinty thing is misconceaving. They say O yay it has 2 year warranty but thats only on the part cirrus does. It should be on the hole plane for us to have a trouble free transition. It is the same on cars example. Chrysler trucks 7 years 70,000 not tires not battery only the drive train And not transferable on this truck to new owners. From Don
I suggest you replace it with the sealed version of the battery. It won’t require the 30 day inspection that the original battery did.
Most owners of a $250,000 machine would preheat it if that was the proper protocol.
I suggest you replace it with the sealed version of the battery. It won’t require the 30 day inspection that the original battery did.
I would like to, but my annual runs out this month and I have to get the plane to Lancaster for the new annual (I called them at the beginning of January, but this is the earliest they could take me). Another poster indicated that the sealed battery would require a 337 and I don’t have that much time. Looking at the bright side, I can do it next year when the new battery dies.
In reply to:
Looking at the bright side, I can do it next year when the new battery dies.
That’s one of the great things about life - expect the worst and you’ll never be disappointed!
Art
I just sold my Cessna and in the process of assembling & looking at the records from the last 24 years, I was appalled at the amount of money spent on maintenance, and the frequency of unscheduled shop visits.
While early Cirrus’ had some teething problems, I think most of them have been resolved - mine certainly have been.
You apparently have somewhat of a lemon - although many of the problems you previously listed include vendor service bulletins & product improvements. You obviously don’t like your Cirrus. If you had a car that you considered a lemon you would trade it in. Do the same with your Cirrus - buy a new improved model or even a new Cessna/Trinidad. Just check their records for AD’s & SB’s before buying
Thank God Cirrus hasn’t issued as many SB as there in on the new, improved Cessnas
John
Most owners of a $250,000 machine would preheat it if that was the proper protocol.
My manual only calls for preheat when the temperature is below 20 degrees. The last time it wouldn’t start the temperature was 25 degrees. The previous times the temperature was in the 40’s and 50’s. Do suggest preheating then as well?
We picked up the plane in Duluth in January. Cirrus did not have room in the hangar so each morning we would chip the ice off the wings and start the plane (no preheat). The only time the plane didn’t start was when the master relay failed. The starting problems did clear up for a while after each boost pump replacement but they eventually returned again.
Considering the number of threads that deal with trying to start a Cirrus, it certainly appears that the problem is in the plane design and not the fault of all the pilots with starting problems.
That’s one of the great things about life - expect the worst and you’ll never be disappointed!
I was taught that a pilot should always expect the worst and prepare for it.
If you had a car that you considered a lemon you would trade it in. Do the same with your Cirrus - buy a new improved model or even a new Cessna/Trinidad. Just check their records for AD’s & SB’s before buying
If I didn’t have a partner I would have called a broker and told him to sell the plane and not to involve me in the transaction. I would then go back to renting. The only advantage of owning my own plane was so I could do Angel Flight and Airlifeline, but this plane is too unreliable to have anyone depend on it for transportation. When I rented, the planes were 20 to 30 years old, but they always started and flew me to my destination and back without any enroute failures. I have about 400 hours, 100 in a Cirrus, and everyone of my equipment failures was in the Cirrus. That certainly indicates to me that a new Cirrus is not as reliable as a 20 year old rental Cessna.
Art,
You are comparing a 20 year old Cessna. I think you should buy a new Cessna, it will give some perspective. My 1999 182S had a worse dispatch relaibility than my friend’s 25 year old 182. I will be very upset with Cirrus if my SR22 does not do better than the Cessna. And yes, I think aircraft manufacturers as a whole have not done well with quality issues. It is a severe frustration I have, there is a lot of room for improvement.
That said, I still like flying and I really like the Cirrus.
Hobart Jones
Art: too bad you didn’t take Marty up on his offer to buy your plane
I tried, but he wanted the whole plane, not just my half.
In reply to:
Throttle CYCLE OFF/FULL ON/OFF three times
I will offer as a prize a “free” velcro headset holder strap to anyone out there that can offer a good reason as to why cycling the throttle before engine start can help start the engine! (reasons such as “because it works” are not eligible for the prize)
I know James, it’s hard to argue with success…
Walt
Will that work here in Miami. I’m freezing. It was about 40 this morning. We are up to 60 now.
I know James, it’s hard to argue with success…
B. F. Skinner did an experiment with pigeons that provided purely random rewards. The random rewards created “superstitious behavior” by reinforcing whatever action the bird was doing at the time of the reward. If the pigeons were smarter, I am sure each one would have been convinced that they had the best method of triggering the reward. Cirrus has apparently performed the same experiment on it customers with their difficult to start airplanes and is now observing the extraordinary resulting behavior.
My 20 started this morning on the second try - in Boca !