Enough Of The Excuses... Here Are Our Final Decisions On The
Best Birds Of The Year
Final Compilations by ANN Editor-In-Chief/Dog Walker, Jim
Campbell
Each year, we put our heads together,
look over reader input as well as our own reports and other sources
of info and try to recognize the VERY BEST aircraft in a number of
pivotal categories. This particular feature will cover the aircaft
we consider to be the VERY BEST of the whole breed.
Specific category winners for the following categories will
follow over the next few days:
- LSA
- SportPlane
- S/E 2-4 Place Piston
- S/E 4+ Place Piston
- M/E Piston
- S/E Turbine
- M/E Turbine
Each year, the choices
get tougher. Worse; we tend to also make it more difficult by
tightening the reins on the decision making process so that it gets
harder and harder to make the cut as the best in any category, much
less wind up at the top of the pack as our Overall Plane Of The
Year selection.
As 2008 came to a close, we also made some additional decisions
as to what constitutes a "Best of Breed" and how wide we wanted to
cast the net. As previously noted, it struck us that naming an
overall "best" aircraft across the entire spectrum of general (or
sport) aviation is probably no longer reasonable. Which isn't to
say that we won't make a selection... but that we reserve the right
not to do so if no specific aircraft steps to deserve the title.
There are simply too many aircraft that have distinguished
themselves in too many outstanding ways for one to readily be
called better than the other on an overall basis. One man's perfect
high-speed Hot-Rod, for instance, becomes the expensive "way too
hot to handle" mistake of another pilot whose mission requirements
may differ markedly. So... we're going to cop out -- just a bit,
mind you. From here on out, we will name the best aircraft in
individual categories, and reserve the right in the future to
whittle down those categories as necessary and maybe we WON'T name
an overall winner each year... and maybe we will. The fact of the
matter is that no one airplane is all things to all pilots, and
within the spectrum that we have decided on, these are the aircraft
selections that truly impressed us in each of the chosen categories
-- and that each year, MAYBE there will be an overall winner... and
MAYBE not.
Are we clear on this now (grin)?
Let me also note that while aircraft that previously were named
Best Of Breed in any category, or overall, are eligible for
inclusion in this year's list, we have decided to make it more
difficult (in our judging protocols) for a previous winner to take
the top spot in our judging criteria, so that a repeat winner truly
earns the distinction (and frankly, that hasn't happened in a
while).
But... enough of the preamble... let's dig into our Overall
Selection for 2008 Plane Of The Year... The Cirrus SR22-GTS
Turbo.
ANN's 2008 Plane Of The Year - Overall: Cirrus SR22-GTS
Turbo
Choosing the "Plane Of the Year" is a tougher gig than you might
imagine -- especially when the competition for the top slot is
REALLY intense. I mean, holy smokes, LOOK at what's out
there… it's the aeronautical equivalent of hanging poolside
at Hef's place… serious aero-eye candy as far as one can
fly… Decisions, decisions!
Think about it. The Cessna 400 is one sweet hot smokin' piece of
composite airplane lust, the Piper Matrix hauls the whole family
and does so with inescapable class (and was our 2007 Selection for
Plane Of The Year), the Mooney Acclaim Type S hauls THE mail and
has that lovely backwards tail that I love so much (THREE time
Mooney owner, here, folks), Diamond's DA40XLS is as sweet as a
puppy and so damned economical, to boot, and the Robinson R44 does
what no other helicopter has ever done… haul four real-live
McDonald's-eating people FAST and does so with mind-boggling
economy (for ANYTHING with a rotor). Yikes, somebody stop me.
(Please)
Yeah… it's really a sweet gig having to play with and choose
from among all these critters (and SO MANY others -- do NOT get me
started on my Glasair III-an airplane that I still have the kind of
hots for that I used to have for Jill Caltigerone back in Middle
School… but darn, I DO digress).
Choices! GREAT choices! So many great choices…
Damn it, that's why I pay me the big bucks… a guy's gotta
do what a guy's gotta do…
So… it's time to make a decision… and here it is.
ANN hereby selects the Cirrus SR22-GTS Turbo as our Plane Of
The Year. As good as everything else is, these days, no other
airframe has seen so much improvement of such a substantial nature,
as has this bird. But, wait a sec… there's something else
that strikes us as being pivotal in our selection -- this is as
"integrated" a bird as GA has ever seen (piston-wise)…
everything works, everything works well TOGETHER and the overall
affect is a bird that performs like a thoroughbred, while
maintaining the manners of a lapdog.
In the past year, Cirrus has honed the latest version of the
SR22 airframe to a sharp edge, indeed. The G3 airframe revamp
offered a considerable number of small updates that added up to
being a major improvement -- AND THEN -- Cirrus added the Garmin
Perspective system, including Synthetic Vision and that exquisite
GFC700 autopilot… and if that wasn't enough, they intro'd
EVS (a truly under-valued technology… mark my words) at the
AOPA 2008 Expo and put together what is currently the most advanced
GA transportation system we have ever seen.
And, finally (really, I AM getting to something of a point
here)… when you add the simplicity of devilishly talented
Tornado Alley Turbo-Normalized engine upgrade (simple, sweet,
cool-running and so uncomplicated an Aerospace Journalist/CEO can
fly it), you have a solid 250 mile an hour airplane (and then some)
that we'll get you above most weather and do so with exquisite
manners… and if your loads aren't too bad, and you can
throttle back a mite, you can head some 1000 nm down the road at
FL250 with the same stability/control and handling we found at
'FL25.'
Damn… we are impressed.
And yet… we know that is NOT all there is. There are
'things" on the horizon that promise bigger and better goodies for
all those who worship at the House of Cirrus… the next
generation of Avidyne Entegra (RETROFITTABLE to elder SR series
Cirrus!) will have a full-boat FMS that will do everything but sit
up, beg, and do parlor tricks… and still boast one of the
most user-friendly glass panel systems in the biz… and then
there's… wait, if I say anymore Klapmeier will send that
Simmons guy out to hurt me… and I bruise SO easily.
Don't get us wrong… it's NOT a perfect airplane…
it needs MORE gross weight, is BEGGING for FIKI, and is somewhat
nose-heavy, but for the very end of the year 2008… this is
as good as it gets (until Cessna/Piper/Mooney/BeechHawker/who-ever
reads this, tweaks their birds and upsets the apple cart all over
again).
It's airplanes like this that BUILD UP GA… by giving
pilots the freedom to do things that were simply impractical,
impossible or too @#$%^&* expensive just a few years
ago… especially for those of us who need to travel for
business. Despite the economic doldrums of the moment, it is
airplanes like the latest generation of Cirrus SR22 that will
guarantee a future for general aviation… by simply giving us
the freedom, performance, capability and economy we so desperately
need.
So, as 2008 winds to a close in the next few minutes, while
finishing off this magnum opus, we define the STATE OF THE ART
for General Aviation in terms of the 2008 Cirrus SR22-GTS Turbo. It
is a tremendous little airplane, we kid you not. BUT… we
can't wait to see what beats this…
See Aero-TV Reports On The
Cirrus Perspective, the AOPA 2008 Introduction of EVS, and
MORE!
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