Jack Pelton stated at Oshkosh this last year that GA manufacturers used to drive the market but the experimental world is doing that now as experimental aircraft are out numbering the certified sales by a big margin.

Here's an analogy most of us understand well.

Say you have a great mechanics shop that just works on pistons. They decide to move into the "lucrative" market serving turbines. Well the piston customers know what happens next all the best mechanics transition over to turbines and the piston customers.... (you know the rest).

What project do you think the best people at Cirrus are working on?

Do you think the best people at Textron are working on any piston or even the Mustang? They were days away from certifying a diesel 182 that would have given the world a desperately needed aircraft and a new direction for GA. They had a problem and just decided to abandon the entire project. Are you kidding me!

Over time this WILL make the difference and already has with the SR-22 series.

Nuff said.

Because it lowers the cost of flying, increases range, improves efficiency, and removes lead from the fuel.


Because it goes slower, lower, lacks redundancy, and costs more to fly than the same airplane with two engines. Then, just to be sure the plane was pessimized, they screwed up the thrust line and put a V tail on it. Cirrus used piston think to build a jet and it just doesn't work that way.

This is like praising Toyota when they introduce a Prius that gets 15 MPG and has dragging brakes. That would be "innovative".


Hopefully a twin with a FL410+ ceiling.

Mike C.

Nice analogy.

We don't need "innovation". We need "integration". A simple, low cost, basic airplane. All the pieces already exist, just execute.

In your analogy, the Concorde went faster, the 737 went cheaper, the SF50 does neither.


There was not a single thing about a 172 that was "innovative".

Mike C.

What do you attribute the recent layoffs at Eclipse to?

https://www.abqjournal.com/926856/eclip ... plant.html

Cirrus rolls out Eclipse lays off. The timing is curious, at a minimum.

I wish Cirrus would buy eclipse and put Garmin in it.

Mike

If you want a radical advancement of aviation technology there is always the moller skycar to cheer for. But generally speaking, history is written by companies that sell enough product to continue to exist.

I wish Cirrus would buy eclipse and put Garmin in it.

Mike

Which would enter into an already languishing market of like aircraft. What would be the point?

Didn't stop them from selling a large number of them.

on the contrary, the 172 was very controversial, it was the "CAPS debate" of its day

Mike-
Quite a lot actually fit that profile you suggest - afterall the airplane was intended to be a step-up transition from the SR22. Twin time and the MEL rating is somewhat irrelevant in a single-engine turbine (at least in terms of how the insurance world views). The initial type rating course developed by Cirrus is first rate (on par with what you might expect from Flight Safety or CAE) and I have no doubt the Cirrus Jet will be a huge success with it's entry into service.

Cirrus was also very smart in that they brought in most of the insurance underwriting world with a visit to Duluth a year or so ago and gave them a weekend full of Cirrus Jet technical briefings and program overview - a very very good move to appease the underwriting world and lessen the amount of 'unknowns'.

I will get to see one and hear from the pilot owner and his pro pilot soon enough. He's moving up from a SR22 (he gets a new one every year). This will be his short range commuter - the pro pilot flies his long range commuter G550 and repositions the Cirrus when necessary.

I'm really interested in watching the transition take place.

Peace,
Don

Tom, I realize you are writing from the perspective of someone currently writing insurance policies on these planes so this is a bit awkward...but as you can read above we have been told in no uncertain terms that they are uninsurable. Please adjust your behavior accordingly. Thank you.

I don't think this thing was designed to compete with a CJ... but compare it to a Meridian M600 and you get a tubojet engine, more spacious cabin, faster cruise, better avionics and it costs a million less.