Let’s face it: airplanes are not the best classrooms. The propeller is running, the engine is making lots of noise, the pilot is attempting to multi-task and the instructor is barking orders. That’s almost as much overstimulation as being a parent to 4 kids under 10 (I have experience in that arena!). That’s even before takeoff!
At Texas Top Aviation, we have observed many situations where a simulator would be an excellent way to introduce different concepts and supplement training. Now, in our Austin Executive (KEDC) office, we finally have a really good simulator.
Meet the Noble Flight Simulator, the next best thing to a Cirrus cockpit. With the Noble Flight Simulator, we can duplicate 6 different types of Cirrus aircraft (G3 SR22, G3 SR22T, G5 SR22, G5 SR22T, G6 SR22, and G6 SR22T). The Garmin Perspective panel easily swaps between the G3 and G5 configuration to the G6 configuration, so the buttons are all in the proper places.
Want to experience actual emergencies? An engine failure is a lot less stressful in a simulator.
Want to pull CAPS (Cirrus Airframe Parachute System)? The Noble Flight Simulator has a realistic CAPS handle with the same amount of pull pressure that the CAPS handle in the airplane has.
Need an IPC or want to practice approaches? All approaches done on a Noble Flight Simulator are luggable, plus a full IPC can be accomplished.
Want to save fuel? The Noble Flight Simulator is for you!
To top it all off, the Noble Flight Simulator that Texas Top Aviation has is classified as an Advanced Aircraft Training Device. It is certified to the highest standards of non-motion simulators, allowing pilots working toward their private and instrument ratings to log a significant amount of time toward that certificate or rating. Up to 20 hours of IFR training is allowed to be logged in an AATD toward an instrument rating. That’s huge!
Texas Top Aviation is also developing a CAPS specific course to expose Cirrus pilots to the many different scenarios where pulling CAPS would be necessary. This teaches Aeronautical Decision Making to Cirrus pilots who struggle with the decision of whether or not to pull CAPS. Look for CAPS course information under our Aircraft Training page later this summer.
Interested in checking the simulator out? Contact us today!
The Cirrus Pilot Proficiency Program is once again returning to Houston, TX the first weekend in November. Henrickson Jet Center at the Houston Executive Airport (KTME) will be the host FBO this year. If you are a Cirrus owner in the South Central US, the Houston CPPP weekend is definitely worth your while.
What is it? The Houston CPPP is a combination ground and flight training weekend. With ground classes ranging from engine management, to loss of control prevention, to avionics best practices, an attendee will not lack a better Cirrus education by the time he or she leaves.
The flight training side of the weekend gives an attendee several options. A Houston CPPP attendee can do 1 or 2 flights with a highly qualified Cirrus Standardized Instructor Pilot (CSIP), one on Saturday and one on Sunday (if the 2 flight option is selected). The Cirrus Owner’s and Pilot’s Association (COPA) brings in exceptional instructors for each of the CPPP events, so the training is top notch. Folks who want to take in more ground school, but still want to fly a little bit have the option of just doing 1 flight, either Saturday or Sunday, in order to increase their Cirrus knowledge.
The Houston CPPP event will be November 2nd, 2018-November 4th, 2018, a Friday through a Sunday. The weekend kicks off with a welcome dinner Friday night, then ground sessions and flying on Saturday and Sunday, plus a dinner on Saturday night.
For those who want to challenge themselves, there are simulator sessions available with a challenging instrument approach that doesn’t quite meet up with the normal, ho-hum type of approach.
The Houston CPPP also provides a Partner in Command course for those right seaters out there wanting to learn more about what to do in an emergency situation.
Hank Gibson of Texas Top Aviation will be at the Houston CPPP as a flight instructor. For more information and to sign up, please click here.
Brazilian manufacturer Embraer recently received FAA certification for it’s “mid-light” Legacy 450. Capable of Mach .83 and a 2,500 mile range, this is one sweet airplane. Embraer designers gave passengers headroom as the cabin stretches up to 6 feet in height down the center. Complete with fly by wire controls and a full glass cockpit configuration, Embraer did a wonderful job with this airplane. The club seats even fold down to a bed!
The airplane’s list price is $16.5 million. To learn more about the Legacy 450, visit Embraer’s website.
L-3 has jumped into the ADS-B transponder game with their Lynx line of products. Aircraft owners have a myriad of options with the Lynx line, from simply becoming ADS-B compliant with the NGT-1000 ($2,100, with ADS-B out that works with the GTX 327 and GTX 330), or going all in with the NGT-9000 touch screen transponder complete with ADS-B In, a traffic screen and NEXRAD ($6,800).
The NGT 1000/2000/2500 line works with the existing transponder in the airplane (as long as it’s a Garmin GTX 327 or 330). The 2000 gives ADS-B In capability, allowing the pilot to access NEXRAD and traffic, plus has a Wifi source to broadcast all the information to an iPad. The 2500 includes all of that, plus gives the pilot MFD capability as well. An optional control panel is available if the airplane is not equipped with one of the aforementioned Garmin transponders.
The L-3 Lynx NGT-9000 is an actual transponder replacement. It is a touch screen device that has a multitude of ADS-B features that, quite frankly, are really cool on a transponder. The ADS-B traffic is displayed on the unit itself and can also be sent, via the optional Wifi connection, to an iPad on the WingXPro or SkyRadar apps. The optional L-3 NextGen Active Traffic can also be installed to receive traffic callouts (this does not include resolution advisories). Already have SkyWatch? The L-3 Lynx can use the equipment.
The L-3 Lynx NGT-9000 is also capable of displaying NEXRAD as well as METARs, TAFs, NOTAMs, and TFRs and a myriad of other weather products, all on it’s moving map. It seems that L-3 has taken the transponder and turned it into something awesome.
To read more about the L-3 Lynx line of transponders, you can visit their website.
Are you still trying to master the Garmin 430 in your airplane? Is it giving you fits because you keep twisting the big knob instead of the small knob? Would you like a step-by-step guide to each and every part of the Garmin 430?
Pilot proficiency website PilotWorkshops.com has published a very thorough, step-by-step manual on how to use the Garmin 430. Want to load a flight plan? There’s a section for that. Want to load an approach? There is a section for that as well.
The Pilot-friendly Garmin 430 manual is a great reference to have for Garmin pilots. Pilot Workshops offers a guide for the Garmin 430 and the Garmin 430W, depending on if you have WAAS or not.
The hard copy guides are $44.95, but you can also download the PDF version of each for $19.95.
To get more information on the guide or to order one, you can visit the Pilot Workshops website. (Have another Garmin or King GPS unit? Pilot Workshops has guides for a variety of different GPS units)
If you have been searching “Cirrus SR22T for sale” or reading up on the Cirrus Vision Jet, you are looking at genuinely excellent airplanes. Both have earned their reputations. This is not an article about why you should not buy one. It is about a third airplane that almost never shows up in a Cirrus search — and what the numbers look like when you set it next to the two you are already considering.
190 ktDA62 Cruise
762 lbFull-Fuel Payload
648 nmRange, 4 Adults + Bags
1 WeekTraining, No Travel
What the Cirrus SR22T Gets Right
Let us start where we should. The SR22T is one of the most successful piston singles ever built, and for good reason. Turbo-normalized power that holds performance up high. A Perspective+ flight deck that is about as good as glass gets in a single. Side-yoke handling most pilots fall for inside ten minutes. And CAPS — the whole-airframe parachute that changed how our whole industry talks about safety.
Add strong resale, a deep service network, and one of the best owner communities in aviation, and you have an airplane that is very hard to argue with. If you fly two people and light bags on 300 to 500 nautical mile legs, we would tell you to go buy one — and we would help you find the right one. We also teach Cirrus SR20, SR22 and SR22T training here in Texas, so this is not an outsider’s opinion of the airplane.
The conversation changes when the mission grows.
Cirrus SR22T vs. Diamond DA62: The Numbers Side by Side
The Diamond DA62 is a seven-seat, twin-engine, Jet-A-burning composite airplane that most Cirrus shoppers have never sat in — usually because it simply never came up in the search. Here is how the two line up on the numbers that matter.
Specification
Cirrus SR22T
Diamond DA62
Cruise speed
184 KTAS @ 85% power / 10,000 ft
190 KTAS @ 90% power / 10,000 ft
Fuel burn
18.3 GPH @ 85% (16.4 GPH @ 75%)
19 GPH total (9.5 GPH per engine)
Fuel type
100LL AvGas
Jet-A (~$1.75/gal cheaper)
Seats / rows
5 seats, 2 rows
7 seats, 3 rows
Useful load
~1,125 lb (3,600 lb MTOW)
1,341 lb (5,071 lb MTOW)
Full-fuel payload
~575 lb
762 lb
Range, 4 adults + 75 lb bags (835 lb)
~320–350 nm
~648 nm (45-min reserve)
Takeoff over 50-ft obstacle
2,080 ft
1,575 ft
Landing over 50-ft obstacle
2,535 ft
1,447 ft
Single-engine service ceiling
—
11,000 ft
Engine-out redundancy
CAPS parachute
Second engine
Recurring safety-system cost
~$20,000 CAPS repack / 10 yr
None
Rating required
High-performance endorsement
Multi-engine (~1 week, at home)
Cirrus SR22T figures are taken from the Cirrus SR22T G6 Pilot’s Operating Handbook (P/N 13772-007, Reissue A): cruise at ISA and 3,400 lb, takeoff and landing over a 50-ft obstacle at sea level, ISA and 3,600 lb max gross.
Read that speed line carefully, because it is closer than the marketing on either side suggests. At 10,000 feet the DA62 has about six knots on the SR22T — real, but hardly decisive. Climb higher and the advantage flips outright: the SR22T is turbo-normalized, so at 18,000 feet the POH shows 198 KTAS on the same 18.3 gallons an hour, comfortably faster than the DA62. If raw speed is what you are buying, the Cirrus has a genuine answer.
Where the DA62 separates itself is everything around the speed. It burns Jet-A, which runs roughly $1.75 a gallon under 100LL at most FBOs and is available at airports where AvGas gets harder to find every year. And the full-fuel payload gap is 187 pounds. Payload is where light-airplane trip plans quietly fall apart.
Four Adults, Bags, and the Range That Actually Matters
Spec sheets get written for two people. Real trips are not flown that way.
Load four adults and 75 pounds of luggage — call it 835 pounds — and the SR22T has to leave fuel on the ramp. On a typical G6 empty weight that leaves room for roughly 48 of its 92 usable gallons, and realistic range lands around 320 to 350 nautical miles with IFR reserves. Put that same 835 pounds into a DA62 and you are looking at roughly 648 nautical miles with a 45-minute reserve.
To be fair to the airplane: with full fuel and two people aboard, the SR22T is genuinely long-legged. The POH shows 763 nm at 10,000 feet and 791 nm at 18,000 feet on a 45-minute reserve. The range only collapses when you fill the seats — which is precisely the mission this comparison is about.
That is not a rounding error. That is one fuel stop versus none on a Texas-to-Colorado weekend. And the DA62 does it across three rows, with two seats still open behind you.
About the Cirrus Vision Jet G1
If your search has moved from the SR22T up to the Vision Jet, that airplane deserves real credit too. Cirrus did something nobody else managed: a single-pilot personal jet, with CAPS, delivered in volume, flown successfully by owner-operators. That is a genuine achievement in this industry, and we teach Cirrus Vision Jet training ourselves.
The G1 specifically, though, asks for a level of commitment that surprises a lot of first-time jet buyers.
Cirrus Vision Jet G1: What Ownership Actually Asks Of You
Acquisition: approximately $1.8 million.
Fuel burn: 60–70 GPH of Jet-A.
Full-fuel payload: only 300–400 lb — roughly two adults and a soft bag.
Range: about 800 nm on paper, but heavily payload-limited in practice.
Type rating: a full FAA type rating is required — roughly two weeks of initial training in Knoxville, Tennessee.
Insurance dual: 25+ hours of additional dual instruction beyond the type rating.
Recurrent: annual simulator recurrent training back in Knoxville, at $15,000–$25,000 per year, every year.
Runway: 3,192 ft takeoff / 3,011 ft landing over a 50-ft obstacle.
Climb: drops to 1,100–1,200 fpm at heavier weights, and loses thrust at high density altitude airports — exactly where you want margin.
Worth saying plainly: the G2 and G2+ are meaningfully more capable airplanes — better payload, better hot-and-high performance, updated flight deck. That is a different and more interesting conversation, and one we are glad to have. Everything above is specific to the G1, because the G1 is the airplane most often cross-shopped at DA62 money.
Compare that training path to the DA62. A multi-engine rating is all that is required — roughly one week, typically at your home airport, with no hotel and no travel. There is no annual sim requirement in another state, and no recurring five-figure training line item on the budget.
Runway Numbers Open Up the Map
Performance over a 50-foot obstacle is where your airport list gets long or short. The DA62 clears it in about 1,575 feet on takeoff and 1,447 feet on landing. The SR22T needs 2,080 and 2,535 feet. The Vision Jet G1 needs 3,192 and 3,011 feet.
That is roughly 500 feet less than the SR22T on departure and nearly 1,100 feet less on arrival — and against the G1 the gap is wider still. Practically, that difference is what gets you into the shorter ranch, lake and mountain-adjacent strips that a lot of the best flying runs on. That is not a spec. That is a different set of weekends.
The Parachute and the Second Engine
CAPS is a real safety system and we will not say otherwise. It has saved lives, and it deserves the respect it gets. It also carries a cost most buyers do not budget for: the rocket and canopy repack runs about $20,000 every ten years, and it is not optional.
The DA62 answers the same question a different way. Lose an engine and you still have one making power, turning counter-rotating props, managed by a FADEC that keeps it to a single lever per side. One number to know either way: the DA62 single-engine service ceiling is 11,000 feet, so on one engine it will hold altitude over most terrain but not over the high country. Neither answer is wrong — they are two philosophies about the same risk. The DA62 version just does not come with a recurring five-figure bill.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is the Diamond DA62 faster than a Cirrus SR22T?
Only down low, and only slightly. At 10,000 feet the Diamond DA62 cruises at 190 KTAS at 90% power on 19 GPH of Jet-A total, while the Cirrus SR22T G6 POH shows 184 KTAS at 85% power on 18.3 GPH of 100LL. Higher up the SR22T is the faster airplane — its turbo-normalized engine holds 198 KTAS at 18,000 feet on the same fuel flow. The DA62 advantage is fuel cost, payload and runway, not raw speed.
How much can a Diamond DA62 carry compared to a Cirrus SR22T?
The DA62 carries a 762 lb full-fuel payload across seven seats in three rows. The Cirrus SR22T has a useful load of about 1,125 lb and a full-fuel payload of roughly 575 lb. Loaded with four adults and 75 lb of bags — 835 lb total — the DA62 flies about 648 nm with a 45-minute reserve, while the SR22T is closer to 350 nm.
What training does a Cirrus Vision Jet G1 require compared to a Diamond DA62?
The Vision Jet G1 requires a full FAA type rating: about two weeks of initial training in Knoxville, Tennessee, plus 25+ hours of additional dual for insurance, plus annual simulator recurrent back in Knoxville that runs $15,000–$25,000 per year on an ongoing basis. The Diamond DA62 requires only a multi-engine rating — about one week, usually at your home airport, with no travel.
Can a Diamond DA62 use shorter runways than a Cirrus SR22T or Vision Jet?
Yes. Over a 50-foot obstacle the DA62 takes off in about 1,575 ft and lands in about 1,447 ft. The Cirrus SR22T needs about 2,080 ft and 2,535 ft, and the Cirrus Vision Jet G1 needs about 3,192 ft and 3,011 ft. The Vision Jet G1 also sees climb rate fall to 1,100–1,200 fpm at heavier weights and loses thrust at higher density altitude airports.
Does the Diamond DA62 have a whole-airframe parachute like Cirrus CAPS?
No. The DA62 redundancy is a second engine rather than a parachute. One practical difference in ownership cost: the Cirrus CAPS repack runs about $20,000 every ten years and is mandatory, while the DA62 has no equivalent recurring safety-system expense.
Cirrus CAPS pull #55 took place at the beginning of November over Fayatteville, AR. From initial reports, it appears a clamp broke on the oil cooler, causing a loss of oil pressure. It does not appear that the engine immediately quit, but an annunciator alerted the pilot that the engine was losing oil pressure. At this point, it appears the pilot elected to do an emergency descent to an airport below him, but ended up not timing it right, missing the airport and pulling the parachute.
As an experienced Cirrus flight instructor, there appears to be some suspect decision making in handling this operation. I teach in a Cirrus that if an oil light comes on, given that a pilot has some altitude to work with, it is a better option to physically shut the engine down, leaving control of the situation in the pilot’s hands. This way, the pilot knows when the engine is stopping and is prepared for it, instead of the engine acting erratically and causing problems on the descent.
After checking the engine gauges and shutting the engine down, a pilot should establish best glide first, not nose down and descend at a high rate trying to make an airport. Best glide gives the pilot many more options and a lot more altitude to work with, further allowing him/her to plan how to make an airport directly underneath the airplane.
To pontificate, it seems that if the pilot had adjusted the plane to best glide, instead of performing an emergency descent, there is the possibility that Drake Field would have been reachable, the chute would not have been needed, and the driver of the truck would not have had to visit the hospital. Hindsight is 20-20, but this may be an overall training and decision making issue that may need further emphasis.
The initial NTSB report as well as a link to the CBS story is below.
NTSB Identification: CEN16LA026
14 CFR Part 91: General Aviation
Accident occurred Tuesday, November 03, 2015 in Fayetteville, AR
Aircraft: CIRRUS DESIGN CORP SR22T, registration: N857SW
Injuries: 3 Minor, 1 Uninjured.
This is preliminary information, subject to change, and may contain errors. Any errors in this report will be corrected when the final report has been completed. NTSB investigators may not have traveled in support of this investigation and used data provided by various sources to prepare this aircraft accident report.
On November 3, 2015, at 0950 central standard time, a Cirrus SR22T airplane, N857SW, descended under the canopy of the cirrus airframe parachute system (CAPS) and landed on a road in Fayetteville, Arkansas. The pilot, pilot rated passenger and one person on the ground received minor injuries. One passenger in the back right seat was uninjured. The airplane was substantially damaged. The airplane was registered to WG Aviation LLC, Rogers, Arkansas, and operated by a private individual under the provisions of 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91 as a personal flight. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed at the time of the accident and an instrument flight rules (IFR) flight plan was filed. The flight departed from the Bentonville Municipal Airport (VBT), Bentonville, Arkansas, at 0934 and was en route to the Waco Regional Airport (ACT), Waco, Texas.
According to the pilot, after departure from ACT he leveled off around 10,000 ft mean sea level (MSL) and was in “VFR on top” conditions. The pilot noticed that the crew alerting system (CAS) flashed a yellow caution light for oil pressure; the engine was still producing power. The pilot notified air traffic control (ATC) of the issue and received vectors to the nearest airport, Drake Field Airport (FYV), Fayetteville, Arkansas. The pilot descended and maneuvered toward FYV as the CAS indicated a red warning light for oil pressure, which had dropped below 10 psi. The engine was producing inconsistent power as the airplane descended to 3,300 ft and FYV was still not in sight due to cloud coverage. The pilot was unable to maintain altitude and the airplane’s stall warning horned sounded. The pilot deployed the Cirrus airframe parachute system (CAPS) and descended to the ground. During the landing the airplane collided with a truck and then came to rest on a four lane road.
At 0953, the weather observation at FYV reported wind from 190 at 9 knots, gusting to 17 knots, 10 miles visibility, clear sky, temperature 61° F, dew point 57° F, and altimeter setting 30.11 inches of mercury.
An initial postaccident examination was conducted on November 4, 2015, in Fayetteville. Engine oil was observed on the underside of the fuselage. The oil cooler cross fitting was broken and oil was observed in the engine compartment.
The airplane’s recoverable data module and three data cards were removed and sent to the NTSB Vehicle Recorders Laboratory for download.
The airplane has been retained for further examination.
