Thanks for the good advice so far.
In order to be allowed to rent it I had to fly together with the owner and do the standard Cirrus theory test. The owner check out is not as thorough as a full Cirrus Approved checkout (like in the US) though.
I am reading up all I can find and tread along with caution. Did a flight the other day and I think it is a great plane to fly fast and it is no problem to take it into long runways like LOWG. I am used to high speeds from work so that helps a little. I have a lot more respect going into shorter fields (LIPV, LJPZ) – will take someone experienced along to be on the safe side. The DA40 and C172 are a lot more forgiving to fly I am aware of that.
I am also trying to get the owners to join copa – otherwise I will join myself.
I am operating my SR20 from 2700ft grass runway , LJPZ is really on very " safe side" for me, the key is to change view perception from let say C172, Cirrus has big windshield and low dashboard profile, you’ll think that you going to hit runway but you’ll be still 3-4 meters above it, that was my first impression when transitioning from Cessna. You have to "plant it " in to runway, don’t float till touchdown like C172 .
If the speed is correct an SR22 will not float. The best speed for shorter/soft runways is 77KIAS, and you can take off 1 knot for each 100 lb below MTOM. Mnay times this will result in a (VFR) finall approach speed of 75 or 74 knots. Reduce the power over the numbers and touch down at 59 KIAS with the stall horn on.
I looked around but didn’t find anything on flying the angle of attack which I find odd. The SR22 I fly hams one fitted, but the training documents (and practical training) don’t mention it at all!
Anyone actually using it? Any good resources to read on that? One could always fly normally and see in different situations what the AoA shows and then fly by the angle of attack, but I feel less and less like a test pilot!
There are multiple past threads on AOA / angle of attack sensors. It would seem that after the initial interest a few years ago, when it was all the rage, the interest has died down in the light GA sphere. There are also various installation issues – see the thread I posted in about ice protection for example and the crappy implementation of the market leading product (the wing would be damaged if you left it on while not flying).
The latest Garmin G1000 software release for the Cirrus FIKI aircraft has an angle of attack indicator displayed on the PFD. FIKI Aircraft only because they are fitted with a lift transducer rather than a conventional stall warner. I find it very useful on approach, as one can peg the needle to “3 o’clock” which will give you ‘VREF’ for your current weight and CofG while cross referencing with IAS. Flying the correct approach speed is critical in the .Cirrus to prevent excessive float or a bounce.
Rob2701 wrote:
Flying the correct approach speed is critical in the .Cirrus to prevent excessive float or a bounce.
But doesn’t the correct speed correspond to a constant AoA?
The way I’d see it is as you describe, target a certain angle of attack and just cross reference speed to make sure nothing is wrong with the AoA indicator.
The manuals don’t reference at all the AoA, so hard to know what to target (other than by experimenting)
It does and I’ve noticed up to a 7 kt difference at the same AoA. But still check the IAS to make sure the AoA is ‘sensible’ as only one lift transducer.
