PILOT SPIN
Pilot Zone => Pilot Zone => Topic started by: Username on June 17, 2022, 09:37:58 AM
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I'm thinking about a go-somewhere airplane to supplement my 170. Does anyone here have any experience with a Cirrus? I'm looking at how difficult it would be for my wife (bad knees / bad back) to get into the right seat. She had a terrible time getting into my old Archer, and I didn't like it that I had to get in first and couldn't help her in. We did try on a Tiger and she found it fairly easy to get on the wing and step over the sill. The open canopy was a great feature and made getting in really easy. Unfortunately it was just too cramped for us inside with the canopy closed.
So I'm wondering if the right seat access of a Cirrus is more like a Piper (Bonanza, whatever with only the passenger door) or more like the Tiger where it takes somewhat less bending to get in.
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Sorry, no experience with the Cirrus. You're considering an SR22? I'm just over 6 ft tall and the Tiger isn't cramped for me. Now, I am thin, so you may (or may not) be talking more elbow room, but I certainly find it plenty wide for me. It is wider than my Cherokee was where it counts at least. The sliding canopy is a great feature for many reasons.
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Flew in a Cirrus once, can't really say how easy it might be. One answer might be to find a good Cardinal.
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Sorry, no experience with the Cirrus. You're considering an SR22? I'm just over 6 ft tall and the Tiger isn't cramped for me. Now, I am thin, so you may (or may not) be talking more elbow room, but I certainly find it plenty wide for me. It is wider than my Cherokee was where it counts at least. The sliding canopy is a great feature for many reasons.
Yep, considering an SR22. My wife and I both have broad shoulders. We fit fine in the 170. But I think Pipers, Tigers, and Mooneys all arch and get narrower as you go up. Mooney more than the others. The Cirrus seems to start wider so it may narrow down less as you go up. I do love the sliding canopy, and the Navion would be an excellent choice. But I'm getting older and I'm afraid of retract insurance once I get over 70.
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Flew in a Cirrus once, can't really say how easy it might be. One answer might be to find a good Cardinal.
Hm... I stopped looking at Cardinals a while ago when the cantilever wing AD came out for it and the 210s. It is the sexiest Cessna around. It's plenty fast and has decent full-fuel payload of 670 pounds. Not a lot of range, though. Worth taking another look... thanks!
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Hm... I stopped looking at Cardinals a while ago when the cantilever wing AD came out for it and the 210s. It is the sexiest Cessna around. It's plenty fast and has decent full-fuel payload of 670 pounds. Not a lot of range, though. Worth taking another look... thanks!
Put over 500 hours on our Cardinal. Loved that plane. Sold out to my partner when I finished my RV-9A.
Was able to get my late 80's grandmother into the plane several times with just a little step stole.
-Dan
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Could look for someone selling an RV-10
https://www.barnstormers.com/classified-1747103-2015-RV-10-WITH-77-HRS-TT.html
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Yep, considering an SR22. My wife and I both have broad shoulders. We fit fine in the 170. But I think Pipers, Tigers, and Mooneys all arch and get narrower as you go up. Mooney more than the others. The Cirrus seems to start wider so it may narrow down less as you go up. I do love the sliding canopy, and the Navion would be an excellent choice. But I'm getting older and I'm afraid of retract insurance once I get over 70.
I’m 62. Have had a Navion for about a year and half. I think I insure it for $60k hill value, and insurance is about $2,000. Only had about 80 Complex/RG hours before getting my Navion. It’s doable.
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I’m 62. Have had a Navion for about a year and half. I think I insure it for $60k hill value, and insurance is about $2,000. Only had about 80 Complex/RG hours before getting my Navion. It’s doable.
I'm with Avemco... I hear that they are about the best when it comes to "more seasoned" pilots. I'll give them a call and see what's up with retracts.
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I'm with Avemco... I hear that they are about the best when it comes to "more seasoned" pilots. I'll give them a call and see what's up with retracts.
I wouldn’t just call an insurance company. I used Ladd Gardner. As a broker, they float your situation to many insurers. Ladd Gardner insures a LOT of warbirds, and a Navion qualifies as a warbird.
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I wouldn’t just call an insurance company. I used Ladd Gardner. As a broker, they float your situation to many insurers. Ladd Gardner insures a LOT of warbirds, and a Navion qualifies as a warbird.
That's good advice Stan. Why I've always used the same broker over the years. When he passed, his wife, who'd been working with him for years took over, so same service.
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We used Travers out of St. Louis as our broker.
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I wouldn’t just call an insurance company. I used Ladd Gardner. As a broker, they float your situation to many insurers. Ladd Gardner insures a LOT of warbirds, and a Navion qualifies as a warbird.
Great idea! Thanks!
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When the G3 had just come out, I got in touch with the local Cirrus rep and we went for a flight with my whole family, which at the time was just my wife and daughter. That SR22 comfortably made quick work of our proposed mission. I'd imagine Cirrus would let you test-fly one with your wife.
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I’ll be honest, if I had a spare $1MM for a toy or personal transportation, I’d get a Cirrus, despite all the ridicule I would get at my home base. But I don’t, so I’ll continue to ridicule Cirrus pilots.
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Cirrus makes a great plane, but I'd rather have a 182. Not as fast but you can still put a chute in them. And if you ding it, most any shops can fix them. Plus, you have more money left over for fuel, expenses, a boat, etc.
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I just don't like their looks and the side stick. Hard pass.
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We had a chance to "try on" a Cirrus at Oshkosh. In person the thing is much larger and taller than I thought. She couldn't get up on the wing without a small stepstool, then over the sill and down on the seat was a challenge. Knee replacement and back fusion really limited her flexibility. Once in she loved it. Getting out was again more hassle than she wanted to deal with. Fast, sexy, and fun. And the plane was pretty nice too. In the end she said, Why don't we just get a TR182? Yeah, that works. Half the price, plenty of capability. That's the current "go somewhere" aircraft.
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Had a friend who not long ago moved west, sold his well-equipped retractable Skylane and last we talked was looking for a Turbo model.
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I talked to Avemco (my insurance company) about older pilots and retracts. I asked about age barriers and availability. They said that they have no problem with older pilots and retracts as long as you have some history with the company. They specifically said that if you were 80 years old, new to them, and wanted to insure a retract it was a no-go. However, if you're already insured with them for a while and wanted to go complex it was just (for the TR182) 10 hours dual with someone familiar with make and model. They DO NOT insure 210s.
That may change in the future, but that's the situation for now. Cool!
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I talked to Avemco (my insurance company) about older pilots and retracts. I asked about age barriers and availability. They said that they have no problem with older pilots and retracts as long as you have some history with the company. They specifically said that if you were 80 years old, new to them, and wanted to insure a retract it was a no-go. However, if you're already insured with them for a while and wanted to go complex it was just (for the TR182) 10 hours dual with someone familiar with make and model. They DO NOT insure 210s.
That may change in the future, but that's the situation for now. Cool!
Why don't they insure 210s?
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Why don't they insure 210s?
Getting very costly to repair. What use to be considered a minor accident will now total one out.
Remember, the newest model of one of these is now 37 years old, and many have had substandard maintenance over those years.
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Getting very costly to repair. What use to be considered a minor accident will now total one out.
Remember, the newest model of one of these is now 37 years old, and many have had substandard maintenance over those years.
Yeah, for sure. Doubt if they'd insure a 337. Lol.
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Yeah, for sure. Doubt if they'd insure a 337. Lol.
Actually, I was looking into a Skymaster about 3 years ago before I settled on my Navion. I use Ladd Gardner as my agent. I got a quote for a C337, non-pressurized, no multi-engine yet, age 59, 100 hours in rectracts and complex, and the insurance quote was in the $4,000 range. I’m paying about $2k for my Navion. So there is a decent chance someone will insure a 337.