Extra 400

Peter wrote:

This Extra 400 situation shows there is demand for a “small” pressurised plane. There is so little choice… not everybody wants, or can afford, a TBM, even an old one.

Words of wisdom… I have 1000 hours in a DA40. It was reasonably fast (140-145 KTAS real world at 9 K) and fun to fly, but a 400 NM trip would wipe me out, especially if weather was not ideal.
In the E400, the experience is:
1. Punch through virtually any low hanging stuff, including reasonable icing and tadaaa: blue skies! Passing FL150, TAS exceeds 150 knots – in a 1000 ft/min climb.
2. level off at FL200, 20-25 minutes after take-off and negotiate an IFR shortcut at this almost-desert FL.
3. Now relax: you’re doing 190 KTAS (economy cruise) in glorious sunshine in a 6000 ft air-conditioned cabin looking down at the white carpet of clouds. Main concern: avoid sunburns. No kidding ! Long trips or wind forecasts may justify a climb to FL250 which is more crowded and takes another 7-8 minutes, rewarded with a nice 200 KTAS eco cruise.
4. Meal time: get the stuff from the F&B cabinet (started life as CD-changer / first aid kit cabinet) and enjoy a proper meal with hot / cold drinks, cutlery, napkin … Final touch: I plan to stick an A4-size laminated “pizzeria style” table sheet print on the backside of the checklist deck ;-)
5. Start descent late, because you can, and dash down at 1500 ft/min (cabin descent rate 700 ft/min) and 250+ knots TAS
6. Slash through icing clouds legally, and ignore most turbulence thanks to very high limiting speeds.

I did a couple 3-5 hour IFR trips with a “wingman” flying an SR22. The difference in crew and PAX fatigue and weather-related risk was day and night.

Pressurization is a game changer for cross-country travel…

Dan wrote:

As one never stops learning, (or is it only the fact of compensating mental deficit linked to growing age = memory loss?), I’d like to thank you gents, above all Flyingfish, for a very informative

Thank you Dan. Much appreciated. This somewhat controversial thread has shown how civil and tactful the vast majority of EuroGA members are, not to mention the precious advice delivered by real experts. I too am genuinely grateful.

Peter wrote:

However, let me say that if the SR22 guy was not using oxygen, then his plane was so crippled as to be useless – for this comparison.

Fair enough. They were not… On one flight the issue was the lack of AC on an afternoon westbound leg.
I won’t tell any more juicy anecdotes (there are a couple of harrowing stories), but it certainly was an eye opener for both my buddy and me… It made me feel a lot better about the massive ongoing effort for keeping Galatea operational.