But it's not just an ME rating. It's a ME IR rating. That's either:

1. One complex checkride in a rental beater.
2. Two check rides, one ME in rental beater one IR in rental beater.
3. Three check rides (most likely) - one SE IR in rental beater, one ME in rental beater and the ME IR in rental beater.

This is daunting for the cash rich/time poor owner operator. You're talking months and months of commitment at a flight school with scheduling problems, maintenance problems etc. They'd much rather take a type rating and get to do the fun stuff immediately in their SF50, even if the flying is harder, then deal with regulatory minutae in old rental beaters like Duchesses, C172's.

I'm telling you, this is a huge thing. You can harp on about the "well, the type rating is much harder than that, so that's not the case.." but that's in their intended airplane, their new toy, their dream. It's a world apart mentally. When you're interested in something, you learn quickly. When someone else forces you to go through hoops, you're not quite as eager and quick.

Even for myself it's the same. I want to finish my Commercial this year. But the mere idea of having to go back to a smelly rental Duchess at the local school fills me with absolute dread. Frankly, it's why I've put it off. Also why I started a thread not long ago about the possibilities of doing the CMEL in a simulator entirely (which doesn't seem to be an option). I'd much rather go to a simulator facility, dedicated, and do that, than sit in a Duchess at the local school.

Cirrus' marketing, and target owner profile, has nothing to do with demographics, availability of free time, purchase analytics, or intensity of Internet postings, and everything to do with a lack of adherence to conventional wisdom. About what a plane has to do/have. About what constitutes a "real pilot". About why people own and fly airplanes. Thank gawd. Keep breaking some eggs Cirrus!

Adam is right. I had just started my ME when I bought my Bo 18 years ago and I've never gone back to finish it. Since then I've added commercial, glider and seaplane ratings, even some helicopter time, but can't get motivated for the ME. Doubling down on the hassle of maintaining one engine holds no appeal, so it's hard to get up for getting a rating I don't expect to use. Mental block, maybe. I doubt I'm alone in this.

At the current rate of $400+/hr for piston twin training time, and assuming roughly 10 hours to get signed off, that's $4,000. If you don't need the rating based on the plane you fly, then there's no rational that supports it. I've never heard anyone say "getting the ME rating makes you a better pilot". Nonsense. You get it because you need it to fly twins. Or you like burning Benjamins for little reason.

Thank you!

Dave, let's say you happen to have $2 million in your bank account and wanted to go plane shopping, naturally, you'd gravitate towards an SF50, TBM or a PC12, right? Your first instinct would not be to go back to a flight school, finish ME and ME IR in a rental piston and then go shopping for a Mustang/CJ/Premier, I'm guessing.

There is an easy solution.

Since the FAA regards an Eclipse as a centerline thrust airplane you can get your ME and type at the same time.

Right. Almost partnered in a PC12 but it was just so BIG! Would've bought a Malibu/Meridian/M600 years ago but the door is too small for the stuff we carry. Looked long and hard at TBMs (after they added the big cargo door, 700C2?) and been following the SF50 closely for years, love the cabin.Not just instinct, a key point missing in this discussion so far is that I don't want to go older than the plane I have now, a '93. Neither would my wife, she thinks in car years. Older feels like a step back and more maintenance frustration, which I'm sick of, and a twin makes it worse. I'm not really a "new" buyer, more like 5-7 years old, but in that age range there are no pressurized piston twins, just turbines and that's a step way too far, the insurance would be insane. The SF50 was made for people like me.

Those are similar considerations I had when looking to move up from my Bonanza, but the turbine step wasn't as daunting as I initially thought.

Those are similar considerations I had when looking to move up from my Bonanza, but the turbine step wasn't as daunting as I initially thought.

Like I said.... I have a PC12 and an ME rating and I'm finishing up my Commercial rating as we speak. So I don't know how you're jumping to such conclusions. I love earning new ratings.

Why would you earn your ME and ME IR in a piston if you had a jet? Do it in the jet. I'm doing my Commercial Rating in the Pilatus.

I love how some aviation folks think... It's just like boat captains... like "the owner of the boat/airplane can't possibly have the aptitude to drive/fly it... the owner must hire someone that can't afford it to do it for them".... Ha. Gimme a break. It's not hard. It's fun. It's like paying someone to ski (have fun) for you. No way. I'll ski myself.

What's a "flight school"? I've never been in one of those. You're doing your best to make it seem so insurmountable. Why?

It's likely a combination.

I would bet dinner that their is a pretty tight socio-economic owner demographic associated with the new Cirrus buyer. To suggest otherwise ignores the financial reality of purchasing a new Cirrus. Ditto on the marketing. It is top shelf. Beech took a page from the original advertisers on "Leave it to Beaver". Cirrus is more like Apple, or like Apple was 10 years ago. This does not take anything away from both the step-change and incremental innovations that Cirrus brings to market. They have done their homework and applied it well. But to suggest that their success has nothing to do with demographics, purchase analytics, etc. flies in the face of the economic reality of having a spare $750k to $1mm to shell out for a single engine piston.

You can break as many eggs as you like, but absent the right customers, with the right number of Benjamins to purchase said eggs, all one has is broken eggs.

I think you're proving my point more than you're refuting it.

A type rating is not indicated for those folks.

The FAA doesn't require annual training for an ME rating. It is a darn good idea, of course, but not required.

The FAA does require annual training *and* an annual check ride for a type rating, the 61.58 check. Every year, you have to pass the check ride again, to ATP standards.

People who buy an SF50 because they think an ME rating is hard are delusional.

Mike C.

Read your own post - you're actually agreeing with me. That's what I'm saying. You buy an SF50 and you do the ratings in that. Few are going to go into a smelly Duchess at the flight school to get access to a few comparable ME jets. They're naturally gonna go for the one they can train in with the least amount of resistance. I would. Nobody wants to do check rides if they don't have to. Check rides suck.

Gotcha.

But you have to do a check ride for the SF50.