Rotten timing! Just had a substantial dental procedure–they very nearly had to use explosives–and it’s quite painful to laugh.
This shark must have a serious CNS disorder: none of the things he’s gone after even remotely resemble a seal. Perhaps it’s the underside of Marty’s plane, better get that air-oil separator installed pronto!
Re the photo, looks like an FAA ramp check at Santa Barbara. [:)]
Doesn’t look like the ideal area to practice “splash and goes”!
Walt
Either he’s using the wrong bait or the wrong tackle. I realize that the STOL kit gives him really slow stall speeds, but that’s NOT how you’re supposed to troll for billfish!
Is Marty aware that to fly so low above the sea without an AIR-OIL sep. need a special “GREEN FAA Antipollution Authorisation” (notoriously: GFAAAA formsheet)?!?
That low, wouldn’t he need an airplane/water separator?
In reply to:
That low, wouldn’t he need an airplane/water separator?
Paul,
That’s what the shark IS. [;)]
See magnified shark section, below.
Mike.
FWIW my SR20 regularly and reliably cruises at 154-156 KTAS at the 5000-8000’ altitudes I fly here in PA. Rain and bugs WILL drop that speed 5-12 KTAS–surprising but true!
In reply to:
I’ve asked the SC to check the prop governor. is set correctly.
Robert,
FWIW, Cirrus changed out my prop governor at the Annual, and I picked up 5-7 KTAS. Not as much as you need, but shows that it can make a big difference.
Mike.
I guess there are approx. 300 or so 20’s and NONE that I am aware of have ever maintained the hypothetical 160 at 75%.
Unlike the 22 which AKWAYS seems to hit the 180 “bugs and all”.
Cirrus is aware of this deficiency yet still claims 160@75% on the web-site…
Play it straight to future buyers!
This is as bad as claiming 950 useful load to the ‘early brethren’ but they couldn’t bulid a plane under 2050 to + 2100 with options.
We all lost the 4th seat. At least when they got the 100lb. increase they didn’t advertise a new useful load at 1050!
So, sell it as the TRUE 150 @ 75% and the 155 knots at ‘full power’ that it really is.
Or…fix our planes because I bought 160!!! Show me.
At the risk of insulting your intelligence: are you measuring your TAS with a GPS (i.e. a three leg circuit) or by the gauge? It’s possible that there’s something wrong with your pitot/static system if your airspeed is so much lower than what everybody else is getting. Also, you can’t really trust those TAS “slide rules” that they put on the airspeed indicators. They don’t take into account pressure altitude or humidity.
In reply to:
FWIW my SR20 regularly and reliably cruises at 154-156 KTAS at the 5000-8000’ altitudes I fly here in PA. Rain and bugs WILL drop that speed 5-12 KTAS–surprising but true!
Mine regularly and reliably cruises at 140-145 KTAS at 5,000 to 8,000’ altitudes… but LOP at an equivalent 60% power, using 9 to 10 GPH. By the end of a three hour trip in the summer, it’s usually down a few knots due to bugs. Once in a while I go though a “bug storm”, and speeds drop more. Adds a FURTHER half hour to my trip - cleaning the &%$#!! things off. (Never ceases to amaze me how high I can be and still get a big bug splat on the windshield).
Mike.
Hey Mike,
Anytime I have bugs on the leading edge of N224AZ (which in Az is not very often), I call up my special cleaning crew (Dale Klapmeier and his son,see attachment) and they make it look brandy new. Talk about dedication after the sale, what a company!
Walt
Should’ve noted that those 154-156 kias figures were 75 degrees ROP. I’d happily trade higher speed for lower burn/longer range, but no engine monitor for the Avidyne yet!
I just returned from a lovely stay in Houston, TX where I spent Friday in Beaumont, TX at a construction site. I can tell you from experience, Do not spend any time at a construction sites during Tropical Storms! Avis will not be happy when they find the mud inside their car! VFR flight was definitely not recommended.
Anyway, back to my now much malligned mods.
I have Mike working on my float STC. Being SES rated, a lack of floats is the only thing that prevents my SR22/peterson from becoming the perfect plane. 178 knot cruise (yes there is a nominal speed loss), 31 knot stall, 2,300 fpm ROC and a 1,600 lb. useful load.
I was not using the wrong bait!!! I resent the implication. No self respecting sport fisherman would make an elementary mistake like that! I was using fresh Ballyhoo with a squid jig, and the results were perfect!! If you look very closely at that picture you will note that the shark was not actually attacking the plane, but he has just devowered the 450 Lb. White Marlin I was reeling in. You can still see the tip of its bill in the sharks mouth. I think my mistake was that right before the photo, I slowed down a little too much and the shark caught up.
As for the Air Oil Separator or Air Water Separator, In light of the West Nile Virus, I have been requested by the CDC to remove them and resume my spraying of the oil via airborne means. They have traced the rapid spread of the WNV to coincide with the installation of AOSs on Cirrus Aircraft.
Marty [;)]
While I agree that most SR20’s don’t make 160, I have flown one that does. I can’t tell you why, but it does. Mine does around 153-155. Rain on the wings will drop that by 5-10 knots. It seems to have got slower since new, could be due to the prop having taken quite a few nicks.
Cirrus did announce a little while ago that they were embarking on a cleanup of the SR20 in an attempt to make it reliably perform to book. Of course any improvements, even if retrofittable, will cost existing owners money, but at least we have our planes to fly now.
But even at 155 or 150 knots, we are doing well compared to anything else out there with the same power. Look at the Arrow - 200HP, gear up, and you still only get 130KTAS!
When I was trying to decide to p/u my SR20 in Oct or wait for the new cowl/all electric version, I spoke to Bruce G as to the pros & cons.
The new cowl is supposed to provide a normal cruise speed closer to that always promised. The cowl supposedly is being developed by LoPresti (sons I presume) however as of September he hadn’t admitted to having seen the cowl, couldn’t quantify the speed benefits and, more importantly, couldn’t make a firm estimate of availability as it was not yet certified.
After waiting for three years, I just wanted to fly a Cirrus before I got too old. It will be such a quantum jump over a 65’ C172 I’ve been flying since '79 that the actual/perceived benefits are not worth waiting for, at least for the stage lengths I fly
JD
JD, I couldn’t agree more. It’s like buying a computer - you know that if you wait 6 months you will be able to get a faster, better machine for the same price, but then you could wait another 6 months for the next generation etc. etc.
The availability of the SR20 was a quantum leap - the rest is just incremental improvement. At heck, even if you only got 150KTAS, that’s only a difference of 12 minutes in a 3 hour flight, less than the amount of time you spend taxiing.
That was exactly the conclusion I came to. I’ll be picking up my 153 Kt., dual-vacuum pump SR20 on 9/27.
JD, Clyde,
I totally agree with both of you that compared to others…it is a great deal regarding speed…and quantum leaps as far as GA is concerned…and the 5-7 knots is minimal…
But, NO manufacturer should “continue” to sell a product with ‘specs’ it doesn’t achieve. Additionally, if Cirrus is making ‘mods’ to hit the numbers…Then, everyone who previously paid for that performance should get it ‘free’.
Or, it’s a 150-155 knot plane…simply change the web-site and sell it that way.
Gotta go, on my way to N.C this mornning at 155!,
Tc