Microlighters

I had the wonderfull opportunity to fly in a Cirrus SR22 4 seater this weekend
Wow what a phenominal machine. The inside of the beauty is like a car. Leather throughout, aircon, adjustable seats etc etc. And the 2 massive screens for the full glass cockpit just blew me away. It shows and tells you everything.

1 hour flight time all the way from Madkiwe game reserve to Vereeniging. Cruising at 300km/hr!! Yes 300km/hr
Thus is a real long distance cruising machine. WOW!!

I also got to fly one out of Lanseria - like driving a Merc (but the AMG version becuase its sooooo quick)

Any pic's?

Yip. Cirrus is on my shortlist as long as I don't have to pay the bills... Thus awesome until you have to pay the insurance on one of these puppies... I have a couple mates who have them...... Insurance is dollar based and at last check his premium per year on "older" SR 22 was $13'000 a year

FYI
New SR22 GT is around $440K. The Turbo is closer to 550K......

RV4ker wrote:Insurance is dollar based and at last check his premium per year on "older" SR 22 was $13'000 a year :

Bliksem

I took this foto of a Cirrus G3 at the Fly-In at Stellenbosch, beautiful!!

Yup thats the type. What a beauty. Yes you definately needs big bucks for one of these, but man its all worth it.

Massimo wrote: but man its all worth it.

Maybe I just a cheapskate, but I disagree - NTCA alternatives are def worth a look. Unless you absolutely need the CHUTE.....

NCA can have a chute anyway - also cheaper than the Cirrus CAPS system, and does not destroy the airframe if deployed. True-most NCA are 2 seater, but with hard work and imagination you could give it a Merc interior spec, and Rainier will sell you a world class Glass panel for much less than Avidigne or Garmin.

Still....if money were no object, I would be first in line - but most likely for the Cirrus Jet.

Christian

Have a look at the RV10, Lancair IV-P or Lancair propjet.

If money no object I would pass on the Jet and go for EPIC.

does not destroy the airframe if deployed

Petrodactyl, why does it destroy the airframe on the 22?
I was under the impression that it just "popped" a panel like an airbag in a car ? G-forces on deployment and inflation hurting the spar ?

On the cirrus the attachment straps for the chute is moulded into the bodywork just under the skin on the outside. Deployment basically destroys the body so once you pull that handle that aircraft is a write off...
There are lots of other planes with chutes these days and I don't believe that one feature should be the reason to buy a cirrus. Personally if I had the money I'd rather look at the cessna 400 corvalis

Stephan van Tonder wrote: Personally if I had the money I'd rather look at the cessna 400 corvalis

Sjoe, just had a look at Cessna's Website, also a wow airplane!

Well wikipedia recons they can be repaired and put back into service after deployment. That of course depends on where the palne came down and if it was damaged during the landing. It's not going exactly slowly when it's hanging on the chute.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ballistic_Recovery_Systems

THI wrote:

Stephan van Tonder wrote: Personally if I had the money I'd rather look at the cessna 400 corvalis

Sjoe, just had a look at Cessna's Website, also a wow airplane!

WOW What a price. Cirrus is CHEAP in comparison to the Columbia (oops I mean the Cessna 400). Lancair still huge value in this league. They built the 400 before Cessna too it over... Have a look at http://www.lancair.com

At these prices the Diamond Twin Star starts looking very attractive. Not as fast, but it will run on heavy fuel and has done trans atlantic flight....