SR20 Currency Flight

I seem to have an on/off relationship with the Cirrus SR20. Let me explain....

Before I ever flew the Cirrus I admired it from afar and longed to become more intimately involved with its sleek, good looks and fancy avionics. My own grouped Piper Arrow used to be “The One”, a phrase often used to describe a celebrity’s latest love interest. But just as a man’s eye can wander from girl to girl, so I found this was true with airplanes.

I was seduced by a new and more attractive interest: the Diamond DA42 Twinstar. This new bird with two engines, very advanced avionics and an autopilot, captured my heart. The Arrow was left un-flown for all but a handful of hours each year, as I courted and learned all about my new interest. I never tired of my new wings, but I found she was not as reliable as the Arrow. She would let me down quite often and was rather fragile. But I still loved her. She was definitely “The One”.

But sadly, on one occasion, the Twinstar was unable to fly for many months and my eye wandered to the lady waiting in the wings. The Cirrus SR20’s turn had come.

So if it hadn’t been for the unreliability of Diamond’s aircraft, I probably would never have cheated with the Cirrus. I converted to the SR20 at Blackpool and enjoyed getting to know my latest squeeze. The systems were very similar to the Twinstar and I was soon getting to grips with the Cirrus. I liked the avionics and autopilot but was less than impressed with the trimming system which could take an age to set for the roll control. The free castoring nose wheel was also a source of irritation. But life is a series of compromises and before long I had grown used to this new type. I didn’t love it but I did like it. I was still missing the Twinstar and maybe that’s why I never completely fell for the Cirrus.

Then I flew the Arrow again and remembered what I had first seen in her. Powerful, rugged and reliable, I enjoyed a series of trips and felt less inclined to head up the motorway to fly the Cirrus. Every few months I’d fly the SR20 and then my currency would expire. This on/off relationship has continued for a while.

The latest incarnation of my interest happened after my recent  IRR(A) test in the Seneca. As I was already at Blackpool and the Cirrus and an instructor were available and I was feeling pleased with myself after the twin flight, I went off to fly it again. Some basic handling and then four times round the hold before a radar vectored ILS approach to land and my currency was restored. I’d completed two flights during the day and seen almost nothing of the outside world, my eyes firmly fixed on the cockpit instruments.

My most memorable flight in the Cirrus was to Newquay last year and for trips like that the plane is very good. Once you’ve programmed the GPS and turned the autopilot on, the plane will fly you all the way there with little fuss. It also looks the part, with nice leather seats and sleek good looks. It has curb appeal, and given a choice over the tired old training aircraft that are available to hire, wins every time.