An Evolutionary Step Forward For A Revolutionary Airplane
Cruising along, the
overall feel of the SR22 is that of a much bigger airplane, despite
it's 'modest' wing loading. The SR22's higher wing loading (as
compared to the SR20) really handles light to moderate
turbulence well, keeping the ride surprisingly comfortable through
a lot of the weather conditions that most single-engine GA pilots
would attempt to negotiate. Internally, the cabin is a joy to fly
in… No kidding. It's roomy, the visibility is GREAT, and the
cabin is laid out superbly for a single pilot working in the IFR
environment… without a yoke or stick in the way, there's
adequate room to lay out plates and charts, while the spacing from
other occupants means not having to rub elbows incessantly. This is
a truly inspired little transportation system… and for a
change it has a back seat that offers enough room for passengers to
enjoy the ride, rather than count the minutes til landing, so that
they can unbend themselves and stretch out. Ventilation could use a
little more work on those days when the sun bakes all that
glass and slow roasts the cabin. The optional air conditioning
system is going to be a very popular option… especially for
we southern flyers.
Taking on A Slower Pace
After blasting through the ether at speeds that left most metal
machines in the dust, it was time to slow the proceedings down. The
G2 is no different than any other SR22 in the low speed regime...
but that's just fine… nothing was broke in that department,
to begin with.
The SR22 does very well in the slow-flight regime, despite some
nay-sayers who obviously don't know the airplane. Flap extension
produces a negligible trim change with the first "notch" (about 50%
of their deployable capability) and a fair amount more with
the second/last position. Max flap extension speeds are
generous… 119 knots for half deployment, and 104 knots for
the works. Simple decelration takes place sparingly and the
SR22 holds energy well. G-Induced deceleration is a bit more
aggressive and allows one to bleed speed off a bit quicker with
2-2.5 G pulls… but otherwise the behavior is quite solid and
overtly symmetrical.
To slow down, pull the power back all the way, and wait... a
while. With flaps up, the SR22 will go on and on and on. To slow it
down, it's going to require significant pitch persuasion to get
anywhere near the stall regime, though the slow-flight behavior
boasts excellent controllability and little discernible loss of
effectiveness as you work your way down to 65 kts. A light root
buffet, of light frequency and amplitude, shows up in the 60s as
the bird gets to a point of "stalling"… which is mostly a
slight pitch buck of limited amplitude and frequency before finally
giving up the ghost… which is going to take a LOT of aft
stick to maintain to a departure--such as it is. Lateral control
effectiveness is very good, while rudder authority is simply
outstanding. The clean stall comes at near to 65 knots… but
we didn't get much of a departure, no matter how hard we tried.
Drop the flaps and the bird takes on an even more genteel
persona. Roll control remains aggressive, overall control pressures
ease off a bit as you slow down, and the rudder rocks on as though
you were still doing 100kts… There is an excellent and light
airframe (mostly root) buffet that comes into play as you drop
below 70 kts and gains prominence as you work your way into the
57-59 knot range. It remains fairly light through the break and
sports a light amplitude that is hard to mistake but is (also)
hardly worrisome. The buffet becomes more prominent under load, as
demonstrated during accelerated stalls… excellent. One thing
about the fully stalled SR22… once you get everything
hanging out and stall the bird, the sink rate increases
dramatically… so be aware of that as you start working into
landing approaches--especially on short final. Recovery is a simple
matter of decreasing pitch pressure and letting the bird reassert a
proper attitude of attack. Power arrests the attendant sink rate
immediately.
A lot has been made of the fact that the Cirrus manual says that
the proper recovery for accidental spins is using the chute. The
manual states that, "The SR22 is not approved for spins, and has
not been tested or certified for spin recovery characteristics. The
only approved and demonstrated method of spin recovery is
activation of the Cirrus Airframe Parachute System. Because of
this, if the aircraft 'departs controlled flight,' the CAPS must be
deployed." Despite some pretty aggressive coordination abuses, I
found the fully stalled SR22 to be remarkably well-behaved
and observed little tendency toward overt autorotation. The beast
will buffet up a storm, and break lightly into the bank if you
insist on exacerbating the exercize, but there is no overt yawing
associated with that, and rudder control remains sterling
throughout. If someone gets into an inadvertent spin, they're going
to have to really screw up. I wish I could speak about the true
spin modes of the SR series… I have some insight from prior
test pilots that suggests the issues involved are about the
rotation rate involved in a stable-state spin and the time
it's going to take to arrest the resultant rotational inertia and
actually recover… At some point, I hope CD will allow us a
chance to explore that part of the envelope… I have a
feeling that the airplane will recover well, if you have the
expertise and altitude to arrest the autorotation.
Take Me Home…
The SR22 is pretty easy to land and boasts very consistent
behavior through most configurations. Most notable, though, is the
extra mass inertia carried through in the landing by the somewhat
heavier IO-550 powered bird. This means the one needs to watch
speed and energy, when using short strips, because the bird does
want to keep moving. It takes proper energy management to eke out
the best short-field response.
Best approach protocols suggest using about 100 kts on the
downwind, 90 on the base and 80 on final, with 70-75 in the short
flare. The speed profile works well here with either flap position,
while no-flap landings are going to require some challenging
speed management-though this is the one place that having the fast
pitch trim response comes in handy.
Approach handling is simply superb. Visibility over the nose is
outstanding. But… get a feel for the energy of your airplane
or you're going to spend a little time chasing yourself in the
flare until you understand how this airplane decelerates and
accelerates in the approach configuration. Mind you; there is
nothing tricky here… but there is a lot of horsepower and
mass up front, as compared to the SR20… though the longer,
more lift-inducing wing of the SR22 does a great job of cutting the
differences down to size.
The best landings seem to come with the addition of just a
little power, late in the flare, to offer some additional pitch
authority, arrest residual sink, and with the bird trimmed
well aft. DO NOT fly the final part of the approach at less than 75
knots until you get a feel for the bird. It'll fly all day at 70-75
kts… but if you get sloppy, you can induce a heckuva sink
with bad energy management. There is an initial tendency to flare
high, but a little practice will give one the sight picture needed
to properly judge their altitude and attitude in the final stages
of arrival. This is the only point when control pressures get
ponderous since you'll use a lot of pitch to work the flare. As
soon as you plant the mains, come off the power, maintain
heading and brake as necessary. With good speed management and
moderate to heavy braking, the SR22 will easily show it's ability
to get itself stopped in 1100-1500 feet. You'll need at least twice
that when dealing with the stereotypical 50 foot obstacle.
You'll find the lateral authority to be outstanding right
through the touchdown and beyond, with a little roll input
countering some pretty stiff crosswinds, easily. In other
SR22s, I've easily dealt with 20-25 knots, directly abeam, and
still had sufficient rudder authority to keep things straight
with enough roll to counter drift. Braking action is very
good, and there is little difficulty keeping things lined up (even
without brakes) until you slow to about 15-20 kts when rudder
effectiveness is curtailed.
ANN Test Pilot's Summary
The SR22 was a helluva bird… but the G2 got rid of
most of the "yeah, buts" we'd had over the years (pretty much all
but the placement of the secondary flight instruments). The bird
boasts great visibility, superb handling and is a truly manageable
GA transportation system that I have no qualms about handing over
to a properly trained low-timer. It simply doesn't have any bad
habits or obvious 'gotchas' that'll bust your butt unless you
really aren't paying attention…
And that PFD… that's the way ALL GA airplanes should be
equipped in the future… once you've gone EFIS, you'll never
go back. Yeah, we loved the darned thing and our only bitch with
the bird is that it's simply out of our price range… but if
you see us with an SR20-G2 in the future, though, don't be
surprised--we might just be able to pull that off. Then again, some
of those fractional programs utilizing the SR22 might just do the
trick… we shall see.
All in all, this is a truly superb airplane… and it is
(for now and for the money) the plane to beat in the
high-performance, piston, single engine GA marketplace. You're
going to see a LOT of these in the skies of the world over the next
few years. It is not the best airplane at every task… but it
does a little bit of everything better than most. The SR22-G2, to
our way of thinking, is currently the best overall airplane in
a class that is getting to be truly competitive. We can't wait
to see what follows this.
Pros:
- Speedy airplane with excellent load hauling capability over a
good piece of real estate.
- Great handling, fine-tuned nicely for cross-country
missions.
- Avidyne EFIS system is coming along nicely and better things
are still in the works.
- The chute rocks!
- Excellent autopilot installation and capabilities.
- An outstanding company backs this airplane with EXCELLENT (and
still improving) customer service (DO NOT discount the importance
of this).
Cons:
- Secondary flight instrument placement could be better
positioned for actual use.
- Color selections need some 'spiffing' up.
- A little hotter, landing-wise, than the SR20.
- Needs (desperately) a proper in-flight weather datalink
solution.
- PFD needs a Flight director presentation.
- The far right-side engine gauges should be a bit easier to see
from the pilot's seat.
- A little pricy… especially with deicing and all the
goodies, but a thoroughly solid transportation system, thus
equipped.
(Next On The Roster: ANN will be publishing flight test data and
research from our flights in the recently certificated Lancair
Columbia 400 shortly -- don't miss it!)
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