Chris – eternally jealous! I only peeked into on in Tahoe once, but the FO was kind enough to let me sit behind the controls. Heard they sold their first EVO to the US now. But I digress – this is about Cirrus Jets.
16 kts Max crossind? Seems like a big limitation!
That is a review? Sounds like a promo article for Cirrus.
But of course it is aimed at a clientele who might go for this kind of thing. The mention of the wife and parashute, the mention of the intuitive upgrade fromt the SR22 and the very idea that this thing can take you to a nice vaccation spot out of NY City in a jiffy and make you the star of the ramp wherever you go, I reckon Cirrus must be very pleased. After all, that is what they do best in the whole industry.
Must say, the SF50 never really peaked my interest… until now. What the heck, it would be nice, wouldn’t it….
I like the start / stop button. Very clean.
Absolutely amazing that this aircraft costs half of what the TBM 930 costs. Putting aside the the fact that the two aircraft cannot be compared from a mission profile and utility value, it would still be very interesting to understand where the price difference comes from.
I have visited the TBM factory and from the looks, it does not appear to be the facility of a company that is thriving. The place is pretty run down. Is it because the TBM manufacturer runs a highly inefficient operation? Is Cirrus overly optimistic in what they will sell in the future and what it will cost them and accumulating losses (like Tesla)? Is there anything that makes producing a TBM so much more expensive?
achimha wrote:
Is Cirrus overly optimistic in what they will sell in the future and what it will cost them and accumulating losses (like Tesla)?
It may be but the more I think of it, it will work like the SR series does. It will not primarily appeal to the experienced pilots but to people who either fly the SR22 as the logical upgrade (which of course was intended) or to people who do not necessarily fit the rational business type of pilot or even the standard private pilot with this kind of cash available.
If you remember how Cirrus got to the market position it is now, it wasn’t by appealing to the existing pilot community but rather by inventing a new one after an old recipe. Their marketing ressembles the goals set by Beech with the V35 70 years ago augmented with the safety of the shute and a modern look. Many of us don’t fall for this but still many more do than for other makes.
The jet is the new men’s toy which to that group of folks is affordable (and will become much more so in 5 years when the first used ones appear on the market) and it is a direct competition to almost nothing on the marketplace. It has the range of a TB20 or Malibu, but travels faster, pressurized, shute, wife appeal (see the article) and is really done so it appeals to the right folks. If at all, it’s competition is the jet prop or turbine Mailbu, not the upmarket planes like the TBM or the PC12.
So maybe you are quite on the right track. They price it to sell in the hope to sell the numbers required to get the price to this amount. If one believes their marketing, they have sold 600 positions or more, so the may well be on the right track.
Much will depend how the real mc-coy is now received by the aviation community. The press is salivating and raving. So will many who fly it and get hooked.
Of course all of us are looking at pilots mags, and even if that one quoted here is raving, it is not alone. But the SF50 makes wind elsewhere too. Here for example.
One has to hand it to Cirrus, that is how one sells airplanes.
Most importantly – the SF50 has the fit & finish level that makes it look like it’s actually worth 2m, unlike the warmed-over 1950es piston designs that sell for 750k+ when new.
Similar range to the TB is irrelevant. A Tesla has the same range as a Trabbi too…
Your chance to jump the queue:
I have been to the TBM factory aswell and made many pictures. No, it does not have the “lab” atmosphere of the Cirrus factory in Duluth, but I’d say the quality of the TBM is very good.
The Cirrus SF50 would be a great airplane for flying the family around Central Europe. And what’s great is that it fits in a hangar space for an SR22! If my company was located at an IFR airport and if I could use it for business regularly it would be affordable. As a private airplane it’s much too expensive … for me ;-)
