One of the cool things
about reviewing all that was good and bad about Oshkosh is the fact
that by the time that the end of the Fly-In rolls around, all the
powers-that-be have come forth with the latest and greatest of
their wares. After that, its time to scarf up the aeronautical
smorgasbord.
Yum!
This is particularly true of this year, where early product
announcements have been all the rage in order to shake up some dust
before the economic heebie-jeebies of recent days had fully taken
hold (in other words, get your money while you can…).
While this year has actually produced several NEW aircraft on
the GA front, a number of other promising projects are finally
maturing to the point where you can step up, lay your money on the
table, and (sooner or later) fly your new bird to your
home-drome.
Herewith; our take on what REALLY impresses us as the BEST of
the available general aviation fleet for 2003.
The Runners-Up
The once-mighty
aero-trinity of Cessna Beech and Piper is not so mighty any more.
With Cessna's lay-offs, Raytheon/Beech's lack of real emphasis on
GA, and only Piper starting to get feisty again; a whole new
generation of birds are stepping up to take a position of
prominence in the GA marketplace. While there is little question
that Cirrus is kicking ass and taking names, one company that
continues to astound us with some truly brilliant product
development is Diamond Aircraft. They have a kick-ass two place
line, a respected four place line (of which the DA40 is a NICE
ride, indeed), a truly revolutionary twin in development and a
speedy single engine jet on the horizon. These folks are serious...
but if you want to see the best they have, take a ride in a
Diamond C-1 Eclipse... but be sure to buckle your
seatbelt... this little baby's got cojones. And darned if it isn't
a BALL to fly.
Still smarting from a bankruptcy and some bad vibes from a
number of issues surrounding the once-so-promising Extra 400, the
recently re-announced Extra 500 seems like a good
bet. Based closely on the Extra 400 airframe, we couldn't be
happier to see this highly accomplished airframe get a powerplant
that the GA world will have to take seriously.
If the company can get it's act together, meet the figures
quoted, and fly half as well as the 400 did, then this is going to
be a heckuva bird to fly... until the pricing paradigm changes over
the next few years with the introduction of a new generation of
more-affordable light bizjets.
When it first showed up, everyone snickered and figured that
Piper had mis-stepped with their announcement of a new generation
of airframes obviously based on the Cherokee 6/Saratoga line.
But... the Piper 6X and 6XT offer more seats
and more capability for those seats than anything else currently
available. Sure, it's not an exciting Mach 2 super-whizbang, but it
is a solid family airplane... a market that our sources indicate
remains a solid one.
Not quite ready for prime-time, few aircraft are as breathlessly
awaited as the Lancair 400... the ONLY new
turbocharged hot-rod expected to come down the pike in a few years
and a bird that will given even the mighty Cirrus SR22 a solid run
for the loose change. As fast as they come, the Lancair Columbia is
a helluva flier... we've flown the prototype and even down low,
this bird simply does not know the meaning of the word, "WHOA."
Solid handling, great creature comforts and a great cockpit
(thanks to the novel portrait mounted Avidyne Entegra... an
orientation we love for the MFD and are not crazy about in regards
to the PFD), allow the C400 to truly deserve the excitement that is
building over this airplane and come 2004... do not be surprised to
see the C400 take top honors.
So, The Best We've Seen So Far Is...
Not Exactly What You'd Expect!
Our top bird of the year
is not the wonderfully heavy-horsed 310 HP SR22, oh no. Yeah, we
love that thing all to blazes... and the lovely kick in the ass you
get when you drop the hammer on all those ponies is certainly worth
the price of admission. But, we're trying to meet a lot of specs
when we name the very best in a field that is populated by some
very good competition. And as much as we like the SR22, there is no
getting away from the fact that it's little brother, the
SR20, is a hell of a value and our
unequivocal selection as 'Plane of the Year.' Run all the
numbers, balance price and performance AND add to that the fact
that this thing now comes STANDARD with an Avidyne Entegra (the
very height of aeronautical coolness), and you are left with little
choice but to choose the SR20 as THE best "all-around" bird
available to today's airplane buyer.
The $229.9K SR20 does a lot for a 200 HP bird.
It's off the ground in as little as 1,341 ft and over the mythical
50 foot obstacle in 1,958 ft. A max rate of climb of 920 fpm,
matched with a max cruise speed of 160 Kts and a polite stall (Vs1)
comes on at 54 KIAS. With a useful load of 950 pounds, a 56 gallon
fuel load, the SR20 will cruise down (at 10.5 GPH) the road to a
maximum range of 831 nm... and come back to earth (over that same
obnoxious 50 foot obstacle in 2040, needing 1,014 ft for the actual
ground roll.
Best of all, though, is the comfort factor. The side
sticks open up the cockpit to offer a roomy panorama from which to
view terra firma. Seating is comfy, spacing is downright generous,
payload is acceptable (OK, it could use a bit more useful load),
the back seat is NOT a torture chamber like so many other birds,
the bird rides rough weather surprisingly well for its wing
loading, and the stability profile is simply sweet... with
extremely well defined dynamic properties. Over the years, I've
piled up the better part of 20 hours in various versions of the
Cirrus... from the early experimental prototypes to a full-throated
SR22 with every bell and whistle known to the single-engine
spectra.
These birds have shifted the price/performance paradigm in such
an aggressive fashion that everyone else hoping to compete with
these aircraft will have to scramble to keep up. Woe betide those
who continue to try and offer old technologies for today's
prices... That dog simply won't hunt anymore... not after what
Cirrus has done and not with several other companies trying to
knock them off the where they are right now... the very pinnacle of
single engine design and manufacturing. If there's a better bird
for the money, I'd buy it... but for the moment, in our opinion,
nothing touches the SR20 in terms of bang for the
buck.
ANN's Daily Aero-Term (01.12.25): Parallel ILS Approaches
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