Coming to a GA Airport Near You... Pretty Cool

[On Your Six]

http://www.the-jet.com/pdf/specifications.pdf

I am sure they'll hit Class B airports too. Current Cirrus pilots will evidently be able to transition easily into this airplane (includes a parachute). I imagine the training program will have to be pretty rigorous. Ease-of-use is one of the design factors. The first test aircraft actually flew yesterday:

http://www.cirrusdesign.com/

It's not meant to be super fast (like the Eclipse and others) and I believe it will be restricted to lower altitudes to get out of the way of bigger airplanes.

Looks like it might be fun to fly. Total cost: less than $1.2 million (for now). Discuss.

 

[svcta]

Well, there are very few airplanes as super fast as an eclipse.

Doctor killers just keep getting more and more lethal. (it is cool, though).

 

[On Your Six]

Here's the actual video of the first flight as well as some previous development-related videos (including rationale for the airplane itself):

http://www.the-jet.com/news/index.html

 

[BoilerUP]

Too many Cirrus pilots have already been killed because they think their aircraft is equipped to handle more than 1. it is, and 2. the pilot's experience level safely allows.

Now we're gonna have these guys in the lower flight levels, where the worst weather exists, in a small, pressurized, anti-iced jet.

A jet with a parachute.

Considering the insurance on your average SR-22 runs between $4000-10000/yr, I can't wait to see what underwriters are going to want in terms of pilot experience, initial/recurrent training, and price.

 

[On Your Six]

Well, there are very few airplanes as super fast as an eclipse.

Doctor killers just keep getting more and more lethal. (it is cool, though).

You clearly don't get sarcasm...

 

[ArtVandalay]

god that is one ugly airplane. No V1 cuts I guess though...

 

[siouxicide]

Personally I think it's pretty incredible. Cirrus has always had a way with user-friendly operation and taking modern tech and making it happen, something Cessna had to buy into(Columbia).
On the other hand, I too think there's gonna be a ton of wrecks with this. No matter how single-pilot friendly they make this, you can't fix stupid.
Any guesses why they limited it to FL250? Seems low when many turbo-props are good to FL310.

 

[On Your Six]

Personally I think it's pretty incredible. Cirrus has always had a way with user-friendly operation and taking modern tech and making it happen, something Cessna had to buy into(Columbia).
On the other hand, I too think there's gonna be a ton of wrecks with this. No matter how single-pilot friendly they make this, you can't fix stupid.
Any guesses why they limited it to FL250? Seems low when many turbo-props are good to FL310.

I think Cirrus intentionally didn't want it to mix with faster airplanes up high (as a courtesy to everyone else). Hey, I think it looks pretty cool - looks comfy inside compared to the narrow Eclipse jet.

 

[ableone]

Cool Factor High.

I think 9.2 out of 10.

Had I been smart, and gone to law school instead of basing my career choice on a circa 1965 airline pilot brochure, I would be writing a deposit check now.

 

[woutlaw]

Any guesses why they limited it to FL250? Seems low when many turbo-props are good to FL310.

My understanding is that it had to do with the more stringent certification requirements to go above FL250. (What changes re: certification above FL250 is beyond me, but I suppose it has to do with system redundancy, emergency oxygen, stuff like that.)

When they announced the jet Cirrus was pretty clear that it would be the lowest flying, slowest jet on the market.

There's a decent article on the jet here: http://www.avbuyer.com/Articles/Article.asp?Id=872

The scuttlebutt on insurance is that Cirrus is working with insurers to get it into the $35,000 range, at least that's what's being thrown around on the Cirrus Owners and Pilot's Association.

I agree it'll be interesting to see how it does safety-wise. Cirrus' training program is pretty darn thorough for a piston single (full disclosure, I teach the SR20/22 and have gone through the factory instructor's course) but it drives me nuts when I look at the accidents that have happened and the individual stupidity involved.

Their safety record started out worse than the overall GA average then dropped to about the GA average or even slightly below. This year may be worse again because of a few fatal accidents early in the year.

It's an interesting airplane and while I'm not a Kool-Aid drinker, I really respect Cirrus for their innovative thinking.