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Cirrus Delivers 8,000th Aircraft Special Edition


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2 minutes ago, 201Steve said:

Diamond website lists it’s TOP speed at 14k feet being 142kts. I can get 142kts in the worst possible cruise conditions. More typically, 157. So that’s 15 knots slower, and the empty weight is 1740 lbs. same as my Mooney. So.... it’s not lighter, it’s not almost as fast. Where does that leave us? It’s easier to get into. 

They never updated the AFM after 2005, so all the aerodynamic and prop improvements are not accounted for.  I have flown dozens of new DA40's, and they will do 150 +/- a few.

Also, 14,000 is optimal for the NG, not the IO360.

-dan

Edited by exM20K
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4 hours ago, 201Steve said:

Diamond website lists it’s TOP speed at 14k feet being 142kts. I can get 142kts in the worst possible cruise conditions. More typically, 157. So that’s 15 knots slower, and the empty weight is 1740 lbs. same as my Mooney. So.... it’s not lighter, it’s not almost as fast. Where does that leave us? It’s easier to get into. 

Make it a fair test:  180 hp Diamond against 180 hp, carbureted Mooney. I run ~147-148 KTAS at 8000-10,000 msl at ~70% power. Theirs can be new, mine is 50 years old.

Throw in a taxi test, too, nice and long with some sharp turns. My brakes won't overheat, and I'll turn both tighter and easier--I rarely use any brakes to turn. 

Yes, all planes are compromises, but they seem to have compromised the pilot experience to achieve that difficult-to-repair composite structure.

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58 minutes ago, Hank said:

Make it a fair test:  180 hp Diamond against 180 hp, carbureted Mooney. I run ~147-148 KTAS at 8000-10,000 msl at ~70% power. Theirs can be new, mine is 50 years old.

Throw in a taxi test, too, nice and long with some sharp turns. My brakes won't overheat, and I'll turn both tighter and easier--I rarely use any brakes to turn. 

Yes, all planes are compromises, but they seem to have compromised the pilot experience to achieve that difficult-to-repair composite structure.

I’m sorry you chose to infer that my comment was that the DA40 is better than a 180HP Mooney. That is not what I wrote.

 Forgive me for violating the Shibboleth of Mooney that Mooney’s are the best in any comparison.  What I thought I was clearly communicating is that there are speed, space, and weight penalties associated with retractable gear.  My bad if I was unclear. 
 

 

Edited by exM20K
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26 minutes ago, exM20K said:

I’m sorry you chose to infer that my comment was that the DA40 is better than a 180HP Mooney. That is not what I wrote.

 Forgive me for violating the Shibboleth of Mooney that Mooney’s are the best in any comparison.  What I thought I was clearly communicating is that there are speed, space, and weight penalties associated with retractable gear.  My bad if I was unclear. 
 

 

No doubt our gear weighs more than Cessna spring steel legs. But when comparingagainst the plane you chose, I'm not seeing a penalty. 

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12 hours ago, Hank said:

Make it a fair test:  180 hp Diamond against 180 hp, carbureted Mooney. I run ~147-148 KTAS at 8000-10,000 msl at ~70% power. Theirs can be new, mine is 50 years old.

Throw in a taxi test, too, nice and long with some sharp turns. My brakes won't overheat, and I'll turn both tighter and easier--I rarely use any brakes to turn. 

Yes, all planes are compromises, but they seem to have compromised the pilot experience to achieve that difficult-to-repair composite structure.

I used to have a 2003 Diamond Da40.  There were a lot of nice things about that airplane. And some not so nice.  The difficult to repair composite and the fact that the lightning protection metal under the carbon in the wings tended to corrode and was expensive to repair was one of the reasons I got tired of it,  Also that you could not get an autopilot, period, and I had a no autopilot example/. I think that brake thing you are describing was a problem in cirrus, but never diamond.

But it was fast for what it was - mine cruised easy at 148-149 (old memory) its, and it was nice handling and easy to land - a better primary trainer than a mooney.  But clearly - I sold it in favor of a mooney.  

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6 hours ago, larrynimmo said:

Im sorry, but if I were to spend this kind of money, I would skip the recip for a spinner (jet)

2E0192A7-241E-442E-BE96-B16219B9C195.jpeg

Until you need to fuel and maintain it. Like most 550 powered singles it's the usual 13-21 GPH for the SR22. Cirrus's tiny jet uses about 70 GPH in cruise. A "real jet" like a Citation VII uses about 250GPH.  The VII goes about 2.5 times as fast on 10+times the fuel.

https://www.controller.com/listing/for-sale/193636115/1998-cessna-citation-vii-jet-aircraft

$1.1 M dollars buys you a nice (half kidding) 23 year old jet that will be due for 2 inspections next year.

If the airplane is flown on a regular basis the acquisition cost is usually not the biggest overall expense and people that buy new airplanes don't fly 50 hours a year. 

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9 hours ago, larrynimmo said:

Im sorry, but if I were to spend this kind of money, I would skip the recip for a spinner (jet)

2E0192A7-241E-442E-BE96-B16219B9C195.jpeg

Or look at it this way:  if cirrus can sell dozens and dozens at this price, then Mooney should be viable with a price 25% lower.

I do fear that very cheap money and all the excess liquidity sloshing around supports sales at these prices, and cheap money is not a forever thing.  I do hope our children and grandchildren forgive today’s “adults” for consuming the income of future earners.

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10 hours ago, larrynimmo said:

Im sorry, but if I were to spend this kind of money, I would skip the recip for a spinner (jet)

2E0192A7-241E-442E-BE96-B16219B9C195.jpeg

Wow - I had to double take that.  That is way more expensive than even my thought that it will be more expensive than I think implies guessed.  Now I understand why the DA62 is selling at the price it is selling.  or DA42.  I do not then understand why a new Acclaim for 795 is not selling (was not selling).

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