What is the current estimate for the number of SR22s in Europe, and is there a breakdown by country?
Well, I’m still curious. The same question is valid for a new Cessna or Piper ofcourse.
I would say that boscos explanation is valid. Of course you will never hear of an engine failure in Argentina when it happens with a BONANZA… but when an SR2x comes down hanging on the parachute – worldwide coverage is guaranteed!
Peter, it’s a couple of 100 SR22s in Europe, but I don’t have the numbers. Of course most in Germany, England, France, … but I think a pretty big number is in Italy too. Will try to find out!
Some of these engines are more highly tuned which could add to engine failures but few are truly mechanical failure more likely engine mismanagement.
I am sure that the IO-550 is a little bit more sensitive to engine mismanagement than let’s say one of the bulletproof Lycoming O-320s/360s. Just look at the Turbo Arrow (Conti IO-360) compared to the NA Arrow (Lyc O/IO-360). The NA version has much less engine problems. But then again this is the Turbo vs. NA discussion aswell … But I am sure that on average an O-320 will last longer than a IO-550 turbo engine. Probably that’s also true for the NA version..
It’s pretty hard to find SOLID facts, because in fact you can ruin ALL aircraft engines pretty easily.
While few would disagree that turbo engines are much less likely to make a 2k hr TBO, is there evidence that they actually break catastrophically with a higher frequency?
I don’t think there is.
Turbo engines get mostly cracks, exhaust leaks, and such.
However there is one thing: Continental engines are legal with a vastly lower compression than Lycos and that could conceal a cracked cylinder for longer. But that still won’t lead to a sudden stoppage or a huge power loss.
As far as I know there have been only 10 or 12 catastrophic engine failures in the SR22 population. Not that bad for 5000 planes. Of course that does not include flying without fuel or similar … (But i have to double check that number!)
What is the current estimate for the number of SR22s in Europe, and is there a breakdown by country?
Want me to make a wild guess? All Cirrus types:
Germany: 100
UK: 70
France: 70
Italy: 25
Spain: 15
Austria: 10
Switzerland: 15
Netherlands: 20
Poland: 25
Scandinavia: 50
Other: 80
So I guess it’s just under 500.
100 in Germany, really?
Okay… there’s 4 on my field, so you might be right.
11 on the Swedish register, all SR20 except 2.
Are there really 40 in Denmark, Norway and Finland? Could be.
So, nobody has had a failure then? A friend of mine suffered an engine failure in a Malibu and another had one in a Turbo Lance. My boss had a turbo fail on his Cessna 340 and my father had a crankshaft fail on a Seneca back in the seventies. I know of a few other cases of actual engine failures in Sweden, but mostly accidents happen when pilots try to run their engines on fumes. Still, should we really expect engines to fail at all in practically new machines?
