BeechTalk - BT

Username Protected · **Posted:** 02 May 2018, 13:55

Username Protected wrote:

Nice Cirrus, congrats but but...

1 flight at FL280 in a Jetprop or Meridian would have sold her on it, just saying.

I tried to get her on a demo flight in a Meridian. Didn't sell it. I'm not done trying...

Username Protected · **Posted:** 02 May 2018, 13:59

Here's a snapshot from a typical mission this morning from Toledo, OH to Atlanta. I cruised at 18K ft (highest altitude I will cruise at even though it can go to 25K). TAS was a bit over 190kts. I typically see 190-195KTAS at 18K. When going east, I can usually catch a honking tailwind and see anywhere from 220 - 260kts GS. Today was a N-S flight with very little winds aloft.

FF is in the 16.5-17.0 gph.

Username Protected · **Posted:** 02 May 2018, 14:03

Username Protected wrote:

After clocking 330 hours TT in 2017, I figured that I was spending almost 20% of my office time in the left seat of the airplane and needed to 'buy' more office time by getting a faster bird. I decided the best thing was to upgrade to an efficient t-prop and began shopping for Piper Jetprops & Meridians. I was about to list the G3 Cirrus and buy a Jetprop when my wife confessed that she did NOT want me to sell the Cirrus. It turns out that she gained a huge sense of safety and security when I began flying the Cirrus and she didn't want to 'go backwards'. Her feeling was that a SE turboprop was a step backwards from the Cirrus! Can you imagine? Showing her all the stats and reliability data on the PT6 did nothing to soothe her desire for me to keep the Cirrus.

That's so timely! I'm writing a book on innovation and I used the Cirrus as an example. Can I use this quote in my book? It perfectly illustrates a point.

Username Protected · **Posted:** 02 May 2018, 14:28

Nice looking G5 Don! I have a friend with a similar paint job and it’s beautiful. Careful with blue jeans on those seats!

Username Protected · **Posted:** 02 May 2018, 19:41

Username Protected wrote:

That sounds like an awesome 182 Paul.

Thanks; I'm really liking it. I put in fine wire plugs and it performs better than before. Of course like somebody who owns an SUV that never gets off the road, I never carry that kind of weight in my 182. :eek:

Username Protected · **Posted:** 02 May 2018, 20:37

Username Protected wrote:

Here's a snapshot from a typical mission this morning from Toledo, OH to Atlanta. I cruised at 18K ft (highest altitude I will cruise at even though it can go to 25K). TAS was a bit over 190kts. I typically see 190-195KTAS at 18K. When going east, I can usually catch a honking tailwind and see anywhere from 220 - 260kts GS. Today was a N-S flight with very little winds aloft.

FF is in the 16.5-17.0 gph.

That's a beautiful panel Don, very nice. I'm an old school steam gauge junkie, and when I looked at the engine instrument display on your plane, I thought, where does the flight engineer sit?

The Lear 24 engine instrument cluster is more easily read, especially by an aged steam gauge junkie with less than perfect eyesight.

Username Protected · **Posted:** 02 May 2018, 21:27

Username Protected wrote:

After clocking 330 hours TT in 2017, I figured that I was spending almost 20% of my office time in the left seat of the airplane and needed to 'buy' more office time by getting a faster bird. I decided the best thing was to upgrade to an efficient t-prop and began shopping for Piper Jetprops & Meridians. I was about to list the G3 Cirrus and buy a Jetprop when my wife confessed that she did NOT want me to sell the Cirrus. It turns out that she gained a huge sense of safety and security when I began flying the Cirrus and she didn't want to 'go backwards'. Her feeling was that a SE turboprop was a step backwards from the Cirrus! Can you imagine? Showing her all the stats and reliability data on the PT6 did nothing to soothe her desire for me to keep the Cirrus.

That's so timely! I'm writing a book on innovation and I used the Cirrus as an example. Can I use this quote in my book? It perfectly illustrates a point.

Username Protected · **Posted:** 02 May 2018, 21:39

Username Protected wrote:

That's a beautiful panel Don, very nice. I'm an old school steam gauge junkie, and when I looked at the engine instrument display on your plane, I thought, where does the flight engineer sit?

The Lear 24 engine instrument cluster is more easily read, especially by an aged steam gauge junkie with less than perfect eyesight.

You wouldnt believe how easy it is to manage this bird. There is no RPM control, only MP and mixture. If MP is too high, it alerts you on both the MFD and PFD. To lean it, you put MP at 30.5 and lean to the cyan marker on the FF. Done. It alerts you when to switch tanks. If you let it get unbalanced, it alerts you. If your airspeed gets to low, the AP kicks in and lowers the nose. Bank too much, the AP pushes you towards level. I can’t count all the built in, automatic safety features and alerts.

Username Protected · **Posted:** 02 May 2018, 21:41

Username Protected wrote:

Nice looking G5 Don! I have a friend with a similar paint job and it’s beautiful. Careful with blue jeans on those seats!

Good tip Tony! Would love to come fly it out to you someday but haven’t made it that far west yet...

Username Protected · **Posted:** 02 May 2018, 23:35

Username Protected wrote:

I cruised at 18K ft

Do you do that with the wife aboard?

No: limits your ability to deal with weather or icing, limits your ability to catch some nice tailwinds.

Yes: she prefers being on oxygen over a pressurized cabin? Weird.

Meridian versus SR22? No contest.

Mike C.

Username Protected · **Posted:** 03 May 2018, 05:29

Username Protected wrote:

... she prefers being on oxygen over a pressurized cabin? Weird.

Meridian versus SR22? No contest.

Mike C.

No contest on price either.... 2-3 times as much as the SR22.

Username Protected · **Posted:** 03 May 2018, 07:13

I've been flying a G5 recently. It's an awesome plane but I would prefer a single engine TP. Pressurization, speed and range would be the things that seal the deal for me.

Username Protected · **Posted:** 03 May 2018, 09:45

Username Protected wrote:

Meridian versus SR22? No contest.

No contest on price either.... 2-3 times as much as the SR22.

Username Protected · **Posted:** 03 May 2018, 10:34

Guys, I don't disagree with you at all. The Meridian was easily a better fit for my missions for many reasons (speed, pressurization, fewer mx events in between annuals, etc). In regards to cost, both the Meridian and Jetprop were both a step up in cost but not outrageously so. Cost wasn't the primary factor, nor was the mission fulfillment - consideration for my wife's feelings was.

Love isn't logical. Love doesn't seek its own will. Love deosn't use spreadsheets or data or reports to impose its will. My wife has a genuine sense of security knowing that I'm flying a Cirrus. She feels safe when she's in it. She feels comforted everytime I leave to go on a trip in the plane. I don't understand those feelings and I think they are completely illogical but they are very real to her. I put my own desires and needs aside and compromised to please her.

Last week, she called me out of the blue and asked if I'd take her for a ride. Mind you she has NEVER said that before when I flew any other plane. She has always been a very reluctant flyer and only tolerated it because she knows how passionate I am about flying. I immediately cleared my schedule and took her for a nice aerial tour of downtown Detroit and Toledo. She loved it.

How do you even begin to assign a value to that?

Username Protected · **Posted:** 03 May 2018, 10:42

Username Protected wrote:

Love isn't logical.

"Aw, that Piper Cub is soooo cute!". Wonder how that would work out as your business airplane?

At some point, logic has to enter the picture.

Remind her of that "love" when you are bouncing around at low altitude in weather.

I would never assume my wife doesn't have the ability to reason logically about this decision and come to prefer the more capable airplane.

Mike C.

Movin' on up...to the G5