Cirrus Pilots

MikeOH58

Well-Known Member
For those of you flying the SR-22, at what speed do you shoot approaches? If less than 104, are you doing it full flaps?

thanks
 
For those of you flying the SR-22, at what speed do you shoot approaches? If less than 104, are you doing it full flaps?

I've found 100 knots with half flaps (one notch) seems to work pretty well.
 
150 Kias to a 3 mile final then power idle wait for 119 first notch then wait for the second notch then slowly bring the power back to 35% and your on airspeed about .5 mile out.

It is what all the cool kids do or so I am told.
 
I was switching between 20's and 22's , we always were at 120 while on vectors (or when shooting full's), and then 100 once on the final approach course.
 
I've found 100 knots with half flaps (one notch) seems to work pretty well.

Yup, that's the profile for both the -20 and -22.

You can go to full flaps once the runway is in sight, or just leave 'em at 50% (16 degrees) and squeeze off the power to get to 85 knots on short final, which works nice out of an ILS.
 
120 within about three miles from the fix, configure at about 2 miles or 1 dot, 50% flap and 100-110 on the approach, and full flaps go in on short final only if the field is in sight. Straight from how Cirrus said I was supposed to teach it.... Feel free to ask any thing else or PM if you have any other questions, I have been doing CSIP instruction for almost a year now.​
 
Okay, while we have a Cirrus instructor onboard i'll throw a question out....

Is there anyway to turn the autopilot off, but keep the flight director on without the autopilot disconnect warning through the speakers? My understanding is there is three ways to disconnect AP....Trim, AP disconnect switch if installed, and AP OFF FD ON. First two will completely kill AP and FD, and the toggle switch will kill AP and keep FD on, but it gives this loud and annoying warning for about 6 seconds....

Any way around that warning? If i'm flying a coupled approach, the last thing I want to do is get around minimums and elect to continue with the FD off if thats what I have been using the whole time...That said, I think it's gonna scare some passengers to reach minimums, and hear this annoying warning 200 feet above the ground. Any way around it, or am I just going to have to brief them to expect the sound?
 
I guess i'll give my impressions of the airplane thus far if anyone wants to discuss it.....

I really like the aircraft. Great speed for a low fuel burn, never feels underpowered, not cramped at all inside the cabin, and has a fantastic avionics set up...

That said, I can certainly understand why so many people get themselves in trouble in this little airplane...It's just too easy to forget what your actually flying, which is a single engine piston with fixed gear. For someone with experience, the overwhelming amount of info the PFD/MFD provides the pilot is a great resource, but I can imagine that could become very overwhelming to a new pilot...I imagine a lot of low time cirrus guys are 90% inside, 10% outside, instead of how it's actually supposed to be...

Things I don't like about the aircraft or would like to see...

Yaw Damper
Rudder trim
Individual altitude pre-select box away from the PFD
Higher approach flap speeds...Maybe somewhere in the 140-150 knot range.
Possibly more "tabs" in the fuel tanks...Only way to be sure what amount of gas you have per tank right now when filling from empty is to the tabs or topped off...I think some intermediate markings would be nice.

And most importantly, an increased useful load.
 
I guess i'll give my impressions of the airplane thus far if anyone wants to discuss it.....

I really like the aircraft. Great speed for a low fuel burn, never feels underpowered, not cramped at all inside the cabin, and has a fantastic avionics set up...

That said, I can certainly understand why so many people get themselves in trouble in this little airplane...It's just too easy to forget what your actually flying, which is a single engine piston with fixed gear. For someone with experience, the overwhelming amount of info the PFD/MFD provides the pilot is a great resource, but I can imagine that could become very overwhelming to a new pilot...I imagine a lot of low time cirrus guys are 90% inside, 10% outside, instead of how it's actually supposed to be...

Things I don't like about the aircraft or would like to see...

Yaw Damper
Rudder trim
Individual altitude pre-select box away from the PFD
Higher approach flap speeds...Maybe somewhere in the 140-150 knot range.
Possibly more "tabs" in the fuel tanks...Only way to be sure what amount of gas you have per tank right now when filling from empty is to the tabs or topped off...I think some intermediate markings would be nice.

And most importantly, an increased useful load.

Yaw Damp - New Models Have
Rudder Trim - Don't Need w/ the Yaw Damp in the new Models

I am guessing you are using the old Avidine Avionics...the Prospective stuff is amazing. I do agree with the flap settings it would be nice to see a flap setting like in a 182 I think you can get the first notch in at 140. The fuel also is a pain it would be nice to have more tabs.
 
Well, doesn't fully answer your question, but if you push and hold the a/p disconnect (or straight down on the trim hat on earlier models) for several seconds you'll only get one annoying beep instead of a series of them.

Of course, the FD will go away too but at least it will be quiet. :)

I've never done it, but you could try the same convention with the AP OFF FD ON switch on the panel (although I think it's just an either/or but couldn't hurt to try.)

The Avidyne/Stec FD implementation is sorta half-assed actually. It's doesn't really behave like the FDs in most jets/turboprops/etc... and guys who have flown those in the past tend to get annoyed with the thing.

I guarantee you, the only Cirrus pilots who have tried to fly with the FD only are former t-prop/jet guys. The AP OFF FD ON switch is the least used one on the airplane.

Okay, while we have a Cirrus instructor onboard i'll throw a question out....

Is there anyway to turn the autopilot off, but keep the flight director on without the autopilot disconnect warning through the speakers? My understanding is there is three ways to disconnect AP....Trim, AP disconnect switch if installed, and AP OFF FD ON. First two will completely kill AP and FD, and the toggle switch will kill AP and keep FD on, but it gives this loud and annoying warning for about 6 seconds....

Any way around that warning? If i'm flying a coupled approach, the last thing I want to do is get around minimums and elect to continue with the FD off if thats what I have been using the whole time...That said, I think it's gonna scare some passengers to reach minimums, and hear this annoying warning 200 feet above the ground. Any way around it, or am I just going to have to brief them to expect the sound?
 
Okay, while we have a Cirrus instructor onboard i'll throw a question out....

Is there anyway to turn the autopilot off, but keep the flight director on without the autopilot disconnect warning through the speakers? My understanding is there is three ways to disconnect AP....Trim, AP disconnect switch if installed, and AP OFF FD ON. First two will completely kill AP and FD, and the toggle switch will kill AP and keep FD on, but it gives this loud and annoying warning for about 6 seconds....

Any way around that warning? If i'm flying a coupled approach, the last thing I want to do is get around minimums and elect to continue with the FD off if thats what I have been using the whole time...That said, I think it's gonna scare some passengers to reach minimums, and hear this annoying warning 200 feet above the ground. Any way around it, or am I just going to have to brief them to expect the sound?

Yes, hold down the AP disconnect on the yoke instead on pushing and releasing and it will not give you that 5 second beep, just one churp(and yes, it is loud and annoying). As far as keeping the FD on at AP disconnect, I have never really thought about keeping it. That close to the runway the FD in these plane are little slow sometimes and I would rather not use it that close to the ground. But try this, just an idea, but hold in the AP off/FD on button in see if it still beeps for 5 seconds, I will try the same next time I am in the plane. Worst case you could hold in the AP disconnect, get a single churp, and then you reach up and hit the AP off/FD on.


And for your other post, rudder trim has been an option on 22's for a while, but you dont see that many of them. The perspective has a YD.

The fuel I always fill to tabs, or some variable of tabs plus 5, 10 ect. I really wouldnt want to take off less than tabs because you have no visual indication of how much fuel you have. Tabs give you about 3 hours (in our turbo's) so that the minimum I ever takeoff with.
 
The Avidyne/Stec FD implementation is sorta half-assed actually. It's doesn't really behave like the FDs in most jets/turboprops/etc... and guys who have flown those in the past tend to get annoyed with the thing.

I guarantee you, the only Cirrus pilots who have tried to fly with the FD only are former t-prop/jet guys. The AP OFF FD ON switch is the least used one on the airplane.

So I see...It appears if the FD is engaged, it will automatically follow the v-bars beyond a set vertical speed or heading, like using CWS. Sort of sucks! haha
 
I guarantee you, the only Cirrus pilots who have tried to fly with the FD only are former t-prop/jet guys. The AP OFF FD ON switch is the least used one on the airplane.

Personally, I always hit the AP OFF/FD ON button in my after start flow. I take off with the FD showing so that it is one less thing to mess with after takeoff. If you configure the flight director correctly on the ground (heading, altitude preselect, VS), you can just about bet that there will be no surprises when you engage the autopilot in the climb, if you choose to do so. If I choose to hand fly an approach, I'll also reach up and hit the button.
 
Is there anyway to position taxi charts into "forward" mode?

Well, now you're just being lazy. :)

Great question, I wish I knew a proper answer but I think they're always North Up. I'll sure as heck check next time I'm in one though.

Me, shoot, I'm constantly amazed the thing works at all and love showing it to jet guys who all go "Man! I wish we had this in our Kerosene Burner 599".

I just wish the map and engine pages were right next to one another.

That and I still haven't gotten used to the TAWS calling out "500" loud enough to wake the dead. I mean, I know it's coming and it still scares the crap out of me every time it happens.
 
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