Wayne Cease

I thunk he meant 14 g/hr. I fly a SR22 with a IO-550. Wayne

The Baron I used to fly had a Sidewinder. It was a little underpowered for getting it into the hangar, but it would work, unless the ground was wet. We had two batteries, which was nice. I'd bring it with me and use it to move the Baron around at self-serve. Way easier than moving it by hand with full tanks; 166 gallons. Wayne

There is a Twin Cessna group, an Aerostar group and COPA for Cirrus. All independent of the manufacturers. Wayne

Part of it is different software. That way if there is a bug and the G3X has an issue both units could have the same issue. A different model will have different software and extremely unlikely to suffer the same problem in the same situation. Wayne

The hardest part of the Mooney after of flying Cessnas will be getting in and out of it. That's not a big deal, but definitely different. You will need learn to adjust the prop pitch and to _always_ put the gear down. Another item will be the speed. Depending upon how high up you are cruising you may be surprised at first on how far out you start a descent. Just some adjustments. If you want to travel a Mooney is a great option. Wayne

That's funny. They all look like planes to me. The paint jobs on the newer Cirrus planes definitely look nicer. I've never heard a non-flyer refer to them as "plastic". They like that they are smooth like their cars and not riveted; shows how little they know about planes. Only pilots with aluminum planes refer to them as "plastic". That's not limited to Mooneys in any way. Some Beech folks feel the same way. I like Mooneys. I really wanted one originally. The rental I've flown was a beat-up rental and not close to home. I knew my wife wouldn't be pleased, as she wasn't wild about the Arrow with a bad interior (really bad). I got a great deal on a 2002 SR22 with a 6-pack, only bad part was it wasn't as close to home as the Arrow, but way faster and roomier too. We might like one of the new Ultras with two doors, but that's a bit more coin than I have to drop on a plane. For those that haven't flown a plane with two doors, it really is a nice feature when you have 2-4 people flying. The barn doors on the Baron 58 I flew for while were nice too, but if some numb-nut (i.e. me) forgot the chocks my wife would have to get out so I could get out to pull the chocks. Even outside of that uncommon event it's just nicer getting in with two doors. I moved our middle daughter out of her freshman year dorm with that Baron. I like lots of different planes. The Cirrus just does a good job of the type of flying I do. We travel and I do Angel Flight missions. Now that the kids have graduated college I really only need 3-4 seats for Angel Flight missions. When the kids were younger we flew with all four seats filled regularly. Having room for that is helpful. I've even been thinking about building an RV-8 or Velocity when I retire. Need to have something to fill my time.

Not sure about "ramp appeal" to non-flyers, but they love flying in them. I fly Angel Flight missions; in 172s, Arrow, Seneca, Baron and SR22s. Passengers love the wider cabin, two doors and no yoke in front of them. While the passengers are all appreciative for the flights, the SR22s get far more compliments than the others. It seems many people think if they touch the yoke the plane will fall out of the sky. *sigh* Wayne

The first is almost impossible to truely answer. A number based on averages could be used. Too many people think they can land engine out safely, but don't. Not all of them die, some are merely maimed. Crazy part is people seem to increase their risk because they have a safety device. I've heard everyone that used the Cirrus chute inside the envelope (altitude, speed) has lived except for one accident; I forget what happened in that one. Some outside the envelope have lived as well. Would all 220 have died? No, but that's marketing for you. Plus it's used to get people to use it when they need it instead of being macho and dying or being maimed. Not a bad trade. Wayne

Old wives tale. The Cirrus doesn't have a spin problem. The Europeans didn't accept the chute as a replacement for spin testing, so Cirrus showed it could be recovered from a spin for them. There are places where landing engine out is not safe. There are many pilots each year that try to land engine out and don't do it well, some to the point of fatalities. The chute is merely another safety option. Wayne

I thought it would take some time to adjust to the side stick. At the end of the first flight I realized I wasn't even thinking of the difference at all. I love how my hand rests on the grip when my arm is on the armrest. Comfortable and a natural feeling position for me. LOL. That's why options are good. Glad you found one you like. Unfortunately you are in the minority in a niche market (general aviation). Sad that some people have a negative view of a safety device. Wayne

I set the iPad (current one is the latest iPad Air) on my left thigh, kneeboard goes on my right thigh (right handed). The kneeboard holds a piece of paper, a dorm I created on Word, that holds frequency numbers for the airports on my flight, plus lots of room to write down my IFR release, ATIS, frequency changes during the flight. The paper is a regular 8x11 folded in half with the form on both sides. Having all the frequencies written down is helpful to make sure I got them right, and really helpful on an out-and-back flight as I use them in reverse. I bought a case with a strap for the prior iPad, but only used it a few times. The iPad sits on my lap easily without moving. This set-up works fine in my SR22. Not sure how well it would work with a yoke instead of the side stick. Wayne

Wow. Very nice. Wayne

We were in Fort Lauderdale a few years ago, and heading home. Prez TFR for Trump was nearby. ATC was giving fast left and right vectors moving me closer and closer to the inner circle, then directly at in and close. I asked if they were going to turn me soon as I was heading directly at the inner circle. Now it was "on tape", but they did turn me and worked me away from it. I was ready to declare an emergency and turn away on my own if needed. I'd rather be arguing over if it was really an emergency with the FAA later than witht the Secret Service over a bust of a Presidential TFR really soon and face down on the pavement. Wayne

It is supposed to be in progress, but not available. One of the things the COPA crowd likes is its supposed to require two batteries, which Cirrus planes come with, so not a big change for them. Wayne

There are a lot of good reviews on COPA for the SureFly on SR22s. Many are hoping for a new STC that will allow for dual SureFly units. Wayne