G1 vs. G2 doors..
I am a part-owner of a 2003 Cirrus SR-20. It's an all-electric with the 6-pack and Sandel HSI (great unit). On the 2003 SR-20s it was known as the "C" avionics package. In fact, I would recommend that set up vs. the PFD/MFD because if your PFD dies and it's out of warranty it costs $30,000-plus to replace it. If your friend decides to go with the all-electric 6-pack then he's going to be buying a G1-version, as Cirrus went all flat screens in 2004, I believe.
The door issue between the G1 (prior to about 2005) and G2 models (after that time) is one which I think is complete and utter BS. Some of the owners of the G1 Cirri cried about the doors (maybe because they couldn't find anything else to cry about) apparently because they thought the best way to close the door was to try to slam it shut then extend the pin by pushing the handle down to secure it. WRONG!!!
After flying our plane over 35 hours in the past six months, I have found that moving the handle into the "open" position (thus moving the pin
inside the door), easily bring the door down until it's snug and then pushing the handle down to the close position and,
voila'! the pin goes where it's supposed to in the door jamb it secures without any of the aforementioned crap. At times, the pin has to be adjusted, but that's usually only because someone tried to
slam the door to close it before moving the handle to "open" (thus the pin is exposed), rather than doing it the easy way as described above.
If your friend is truly interested in a Cirrus, he should invest $50 and become a member of Cirrus Owners and Pilots Association (COPA). He will then have access to their site (
www.cirruspilots.org) and be able to peruse the wealth of information there about Cirrus aircraft, much of it from owners like myself. He'll get different opinions on some issues and, like any internet bulletin board site, he should take all of those opinions with a lump of salt (as opposed to just a grain) and then develop his own opinion.
You're welcome to PM me if you have any other questions. Although we had some initial minor issues with the plane when we bought it used last winter, it's great, super comfortable, even in the back (especially for someone like me who is 6'4 and a doughnut shy of 240) and well-built. We all want a SR-22 and we'll probably move up once the two guys in the club who aren't IFR get their tickets.
