Cirrus Airplanes

by Jonathan Walter, ATU Student and Instructor
(Kansas City, MO)

Okay….let’s face…who hasn’t dreamt of flying their own Cirrus?

I think about owning and flying a Cirrus airplane just about every damn day.

The Cirrus SR20, SR22 or SR22 Turbo?

I’ll take either model.

The Cirrus SR20 and SR22 are single engine, power piston, four-passenger composite aircrafts with fancy glass cockpits.

The SR20 has a 200hp Continental IO-360-ES engine and a range of up to 777nm.

The Cirrus SR22 has a 310 hp Continental IO-550-N engine with a range of up to 1170nm.

The Cirrus SR22 Turbo has a 310 hp Continental IO-550-N engine that is turbo charged with a range up to 1000nm.

The SR22 has been the best selling aircraft in it’s class for the last 5 years.

The standard features of the Cirrus SR series are quite impressive.

The avionics package features the “The Avidyne Entegra Primary Flight Display (PFD) which is an LCD electronic display system dedicated to flight instrumentation.

All of the traditional “6-pack” instruments are displayed on the PFD (Primary Function Display)but the Avidyne system goes further to include features like current winds, time and distance to waypoints and primary engine information including percent power thereby simplifying pilot workflow and streamlining cockpit layout” and also “The Avidyne EX5000C Multi-Function Display can be used to display pilot-friendly information in numerous configurable ways.

The MFD (Multi-function Display)includes features like a moving maps, flight plan information with fuel remaining at each waypoint, airport information, nearest airports and navaids, aircraft checklists, aircraft performance charts, emergency checklists, and engine data.

Optional features that can be displayed on this system include XM Weather, CMax Approach Plates, Enhanced Ground Proximity Warning System (TAWS-B), and the L3 Skywatch Traffic Avoidance System” (cirrusdesign.com).

There are tons of other great features and options including Stormwatch, Skywatch and terrain awareness.

Cirrus planes are known for the incredible safety record and the aircrafts come standard with the “Cirrus Airframe Parachute System™ (CAPS) – developed by Cirrus and BRS™ – is a rocket-deployed 55-foot (17 m) parachute that has been credited with saving the lives of over 20 Cirrus pilots and passengers.

Normally hidden beneath the sleek surface of the airframe, strong Kevlar straps are ready to suspend the entire airplane beneath the canopy.

CAPS can be deployed by the pilot or passengers by simply pulling an overhead handle.

Once activated, the parachute is fully deployed within seconds, lowering the airplane and its occupants to the ground.

Cirrus is the only manufacturer of Part 23 certified aircraft in the world to include such a parachute as a standard aircraft feature”. (cirrusdesign.com).

So now you are wondering what these amazing Cirrus aircrafts cost?

They’re not cheap.

The Cirrus SR20 has a base price of $214,900 and up to $370,595.

The Cirrus SR22 starts at $376,305 and goes up to $525,950.

The Cirrus SR22 Turbo starts at $446,600 and up to $590,900.

For the sport pilot or the private pilot on a budget Cirrus is introducing the sport light Cirrus SRS two-seater powered by the 100hp Rotax 912S.

The Cirrus SRS has a useful load of 500lbs and is just gorgeous. This aircraft should start around $110,000.

Cirrus is an amazing company with fantastic products.

Much like our training at Aviation Training Unlimited, Cirrus does not compromise on quality either.