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Cirrus G2 Vision Jet

ByHank Gibson January 31, 2019

Well, that was fast.

In January, Cirrus announced the Generation 2 SF50 Vision Jet.  After getting the Generation 1 Vision Jet certified in late 2016, Cirrus didn’t waste any time in starting in on improvements.

The improvements are pretty sweet, making the G2 Vision Jet even easier to fly and step into for Cirrus’ target market, SR22 owners.

Here are the improvements on the G2 Vision Jet.

RVSM Approval

The G2 Vision Jet has received RVSM approval, allowing the airplane to fly at 31,000 feet.  RVSM stands for Reduced Vertical Separation Minimums (read more about RVSM here).  RVSM airspace starts at 28,000 feet, the G1 Vision Jet’s ceiling.  Now that the G2 Vision Jet is RVSM certified, it can fly at 31,000 feet.

For piston pilots, you are left scratching your head as to the advantage of this.  In a jet, the higher you go, the thinner the air, so the faster you go, and the less fuel you burn since the thin air needs less fuel to mix with.  This caps out at a certain altitude and the speed begins dropping and you start losing efficiency (even though the fuel burn is quite low).

According to Cirrus, at 31,000 feet, the G2 Vision Jet cruises over 300 KTAS and gets a range boost to almost 1,200 nm.

Garmin Perspective Touch+

Cirrus & Garmin have taken the new NXi interface and paired it with the Garmin Perspective Touch to create the Touch+.  You can read about the improvements on the NXi here, all of which are included in the Touch+ in the G2 Vision Jet.

The big improvement that is included in the Touch+ is Autothrottle capability.  An Autothrottle is integrated with the autopilot.  It automatically adjusts power settings and speeds based on the phase of flight without the pilot having to touch the throttle.  Pretty cool.

New Cabin

The G2 Vision Jet has a redesigned cabin as well, making it an extremely passenger friendly airplane.  The second row has been redesigned and equipped with a center console.  There is also a drop down TV screen that allows passengers to connect their mobile devices to it to watch movies or videos while traveling (no internet on board, yet.  That’ll probably be the G3 Vision Jet!).

Cirrus also put in more noise reduction in the cabin, creating a quieter ride for passengers.  Cirrus also allows for multiple different seating configurations, depending on the needs of the owner.

As always, Cirrus is on the leading edge of airplane technology, creating airplanes that are easy as well as fun to fly.  I’m excited to see how they continue to improve the design to both the SR22 and the Vision Jet.

Preventing Gear Up Landings

ByAndrew Robinson September 27, 2016April 5, 2017

On the evening of November 3rd, 2015, I was returning to my home airport of Lancaster from Pittsburgh in my company’s Aerostar, after being out on charter all day. It was dark out as I entered the traffic pattern at Lancaster. After an uneventful approach, I was cleared to land behind a Mooney. The spacing looked good as I turned final, but, as I was nearing the threshold, I started to become concerned that the Mooney wouldn’t be clear of the runway in time for me to land. At that moment, over the radio I heard an uncomfortable transmission from the Mooney pilot: “Tower, Mooney ABC has landed gear up.”

It took the tower controller a minute to grasp what was going on, and I was on about a 1-2 mile final when I was instructed to go around. Thankfully, the Mooney came to a stop in such a position that I was able to use the other intersecting runway, and was on the ground only a few minutes later. I can assure you, however, that I’ve never checked my “3 green” so many times in one traffic pattern as after that incident. Thankfully, no one was hurt, but there sure was an impressive amount of emergency equipment on the runway as I taxied back to my hangar.

In aviation, there’s a saying that goes: “There are two types of pilots. Those who have landed with their gear up, and those that will.” I don’t like that saying. The potential of a gear up landing (as a result of pilot error) is something that has always been a risk that I have worked hard to avoid. Not only is a gear up landing embarrassing; but it’s also an extremely expensive black mark on any pilot’s career.

According to a July 2006, article in Aviation Consumer, the estimated cost of repairs following a gear up landing for an A-36 Bonanza would be about $27,000 and about 3 weeks of down time. 25 years ago, even my beloved E33 Bonanza was the victim of a gear up landing. While it was neither me nor my dad flying our airplane that day, the event stays in its history and reduces its value should the time ever come to sell it.

That incident in 1990 resulted in approximately $25,000-30,000 in repairs. The cause of the incident was classic: the pilot put the gear down at the normal time, but then had his downwind extended by tower. He brought the gear back up to fly the longer downwind, but forgot to put it back down later when he was cleared to land. Like many pilots, he had a set routine time when he normally put the gear down, and when his routine was changed, he didn’t remember to lower the gear once more.

Unfortunately, no matter what experience level one may be at, no pilot is immune to the possibility of such a mistake. The following are 5 tips that I have learned in my time flying that have helped myself and others minimize the chance of a gear-up landing occurring:

1. Know your aircraft systems: What are the operating perimeters on your airplane’s gear warning system? Most airplanes have a designated speed or power setting at which the gear warning horn will sound in the event that the gear isn’t down and locked. In the Aerostar that I was flying, the gear horn was supposed to come on at 15” of manifold pressure with the gear up, but in practice, it didn’t come on until much lower than that. It has since been adjusted, but at the time it was important for me to know that if I had left the gear up, the horn wouldn’t have sounded in a timely enough manner for me to go around, much less lower it prior to touchdown. Most likely it would have just added to the noise of metal on concrete as I pulled the power all the way back in the landing flare.
2. Don’t override gear-up warning systems: They were put there for a reason! Even if you’re out doing maneuvers and the horn is blasting in your ear for half an hour, resist the temptation to simply pull the circuit breaker or push the warning silencer to make it shut up. If a pilot disables the gear-up warning horn and then later forgets to put the gear down on landing, he or she will have a much worse headache on their hands than the one that the horn would have given them.
3. Use your checklists and memory items: It doesn’t matter how much a pilot knows about his or her airplane, or the procedures for it. Distractions happen. Mistakes Happen. Always consult the checklist for confirmation that you’ve accomplished all the essential tasks before landing. Additionally, if you haven’t already, work on developing call outs which you perform out loud regardless of whether you are alone in the airplane or not. Whenever I’m landing an airplane, I start with my flows, go through my GUMPS (Gas-Under carriage- mixture- props- seat belt) checks, then do the printed checklist, and finally when on short final I call out “short final, cleared to land, three green.” I’ve had several passengers tease me about doing the “three green” call out while I was flying aircraft that didn’t have retractable landing gear. But, I’d much rather be in the habit of checking every time regardless of what I’m flying than forgetting to check when it is necessary.
4. Use your available resources and develop healthy habits: If I have someone riding with me, I generally ask them to confirm that there are 3 green lights glowing on the instrument panel. Even if that person isn’t a pilot, they will probably enjoy the opportunity to be involved, and it’s a good way for me to stay in the habit of checking the gear lights to ensure that everything is properly down and locked. I’ve also found that intentionally leaving your hand on the gear lever until you have gear safe lights is a good idea. Forcing yourself to keep your hand on the handle until you have the all important lights obligates you to actually observe the indications instead of simply throwing the lever and moving onto something else. This way, if you only get an indication of 2 greens you’ll be aware of it right away and have more time to respond appropriately. It also helps you to learn the normal length of time it takes for the gear to extend or retract, which will be helpful to you to be aware of any abnormalities in the gear system.
5. Upgrade your aircraft’s gear-up warnings: There’s a variety of ways you can improve your aircraft’s ability to warn you of a potential gear-up landing. For student pilots or pilots new to complex aircraft, it could be something as simple as a red post-it note on the panel to remind you to verify the gear position prior to landing. Or, if you own an aircraft that doesn’t have an effective way to warn the pilot of a gear-up landing, consider investing in an aftermarket gear-up warning system – surely the extra price of such an upgrade is a small amount next to the cost of repairing the damage from a gear-up landing!

Always remember, regardless of experience, no pilot is immune to the possibility of a gear up landing. The best way to safeguard yourself is to discipline yourself in the use of flows, checklists, and call outs. Things like gear warning horns, visual reminders, and other systems are a useful back up, but they shouldn’t be relied upon to save your bacon if you don’t get the gear down at the proper time. Fortunately, in most gear up landings, the pilot and passengers are able to walk away uninjured – but that doesn’t lessen the embarrassment or financial burden of the event. So, keep your chin up, your gear down, and remember….THREE GREEN

Matching the Airplane with Your Mission

ByHank Gibson February 5, 2019February 18, 2019

Has it come time to buy your first airplane?  Have the skies been calling your name?  Or are you just tired of standing in the airport security line then getting shoved in a long metal tube with no leg room?  Or, maybe you are a businessman who does business in remote areas that have local airports but are hard to get to commercially.

Wherever your need is, you have decided it’s time to make a purchase.  If you are familiar with aviation, you may have an airplane in mind that you would like to have, but is that the right airplane for your mission?  If you are new to aviation, you may have no idea what airplane to go for.  Here are some helpful hints in narrowing down the different airplane options out there to fit your specific mission.

Flying For Enjoyment, but Not Going Far Fast

If you’re just a weekend flyer who is tired of dealing with flight school rentals, but you don’t need to carry a lot of people or go very far, your options are pretty numerous.  Anything from a Cessna 152 to a Piper Cherokee, maybe a Beech Sundowner, or a Bellanca Viking, or anything in between.  If you are content with taking a weekend hop for a hamburger at 100-110 knots, you have limitless options for airplanes.  Tailwheels (Cubs, Citabrias, Huskies) are excellent birds for you well.

Getting Places Fast With Only You and Maybe One Passenger

Need to go 200-300 miles fast and not worried about weight?  A Cirrus SR22T, a Columbia 400, or Cessna Corvalis might be just what you need.  Cruise speeds on those are all around 180-190 knots at 10,000 feet. All are oxygen equipped if you want more speed higher up, as the service ceilings are 25,000 feet.  Payloads run in the range of 400-500 pounds with full fuel.  All these have air conditioning options, too.

Hauling More Weight, but Still Need the Speed?

A little slower (150-170 knots) but a little bit more payload options are A36 & B36 Bonanzas, Piper Saratogas, Cessna 206s, or Cessna 210s might suit your fancy.  All come in turbo models if you are a high elevation dweller.  The Cessna 206 has been used for many years as cargo and people haulers in remote regions like Alaska, South America, and Africa.  I’ve even seen pictures of snowmobiles being carried in a 206.

Tired of Oxygen Cannulas?

The next step up from a Cirrus, Corvalis, or Saratoga is the Piper Malibu.  A bigger brother to the Saratoga, the different PA-46 models offer one of the best options for a single engine piston out there.  All except the Matrix (PA-46-350T) are pressurized, all the pistons cruise about 200 knots, and all are configured with club seating with plenty of leg room.  Useful loads range around 1200-1400 pounds (they hold 120 gallons of fuel, so payloads range from 480-680 pounds).  The original Malibu (PA-46-310P) only burns 16.5 GPH so that allows partial fuel to be carried to allow more people and bags.  All have 6 seats.

Need to Carry Even More Weight?

It’s time to get into the piston twin market, then.  A Cessna 414, a Cessna 421, a Cessna 340, a Beech Duke or a Beech Baron are all pretty good options here.  The 421 and the 414 have the largest cabins, while the Duke has the highest useful load.  Cruise speeds range from 200-220 knots, but the cabin is roomier and you get a few more pounds useful load than a piston single.  If you do get into a 421, get good training as they are equipped with Continental geared engines, which can be tricky to operate if you don’t know what you are doing.

Need to Carry a Lot of People and Go Fast?

Turboprops are the way to go for you.  King Airs have the most utility while  the Pilatus PC-12 is the cream of the single engine turboprop crop as you can put almost anything you want in it.  If you have 4-5 passengers, stay away from a Piper Meridian as you can’t carry a lot of weight.  Those are better for 2-3 passengers at the most (plus a pilot).  The TBM 900 is pricey, but fast (300-325 knots).  The original TBM 700 can be had for under a million bucks, you get 280 knots, and a very usable useful load.  You still can’t fill all 6 seats with full fuel, but you can do more with it then a Meridian.

Have a Boatload of Money Sitting Around?

A jet might be for you then.  Fuel, insurance, maintenance, and hangar costs are high, but jets will get you places real fast with room for all your friends and family.

 

Epic E1000 Gets the GFC 700

ByHank Gibson December 29, 2020December 31, 2020

When the Epic E1000 was finally certified in the spring of 2020, there was much celebrating across the aviation world. Epic Aircraft expended a lot of time and energy getting the E1000 certified and into production (more information on that journey here and in Flying Magazine here).

The airplane is amazing. In the single engine, 6 seat turboprop market, it easily blows away the competition. With it’s 1,200 SHP PT6-67A, it has double the horsepower of the M600 (600 SHP), and 350 more horsepower than the TBM 940 (850 SHP). It’s 60 KTAS faster than the M600 and, even though the TBM can keep up (both airplanes have equal top cruise speeds of 330 KTAS), the Epic E1000 can carry a payload of 1,024 pounds with full fuel, while the 940 can only carry 584 pounds with full fuel. The TBM carries about 15 minutes more of fuel, but to me, that’s pretty negligible.

Did I mention climb rates? The E1000 climbs at an average of 1500 FPM at Vy (it’s capable of 4,000 FPM), making it to 25,000 feet in 10 minutes. The TBM climbs at 1000 FPM, taking 13 minutes to climb to the same altitude, while the M600 settles in at about 800 FPM, reaching FL250 in 21 minutes.

If you expand the comparison to include the Pilatus PC-12, the two airplanes have 1,200 SHP, but the Epic is 50 KTAS faster and they both have about the same weight carrying ability.

In the most important arena, price, the E1000 is around a million dollars cheaper than the TBM 940.

The one drawback to the Epic E1000 that immediately was noticeable was the autopilot. Epic originally installed the STEC 2100 autopilot to pair with the G1000 (and later the G1000 NXi). Epic decided to stick with the STEC 2100 through certification for the plane since that autopilot was on all of the E1000s paperwork going through all the levels of FAA approval. To change to the GFC 700 during the certification process would have been a massive undertaking that probably would have delayed certification.

The STEC 2100 is a good autopilot, but, as any G1000 pilot can tell you, the lack of integration between any STEC autopilot and Garmin panel leaves some to be desired. Not all the bugs talk, which often requires dual data entry, which can lead to forgetting to do both the bug and the autopilot when things get busy. Hello, altitude deviation.

The goal for Epic was never to leave the STEC autopilot in the airplane. The first E1000s were rolled off the line with the STEC, but Epic didn’t take long to change the autopilot to the much more integrated Garmin GFC 700. That took place this winter (2020), and the E1000 received it’s first upgrade, with Epic dubbing the airplane the Epic E1000 GX.

I expect the innovators in Bend, OR, where Epic is based and where tons of innovation in aviation happens (Lancair/Columbia started in Bend while RDD is based there as well), to quickly come out with more avionics upgrades for the airplane. I wouldn’t be surprised to see a G3000 version at some point, complete with auto throttles and the new Garmin Autoland. Epic would be smart to follow in the steps of Daher and offer two models, one with the G1000 and one with the G3000 (the TBM 910 has the G1000 NXi while the TBM 940 has the G3000).

I have yet to fly in an Epic E1000, but I would certainly jump at the chance to do so. Someone asked me yesterday what airplane I would buy if I had a blank check. With the GFC 700 now in the Epic, it would absolutely be the E1000 GX.

Reading Weather Prog Charts

ByHank Gibson January 27, 2015July 14, 2026

There are a multitude of weather products out there today to assist pilots in preparing for a flight.  Aviationweather.gov is the best source for getting all the information a pilot needs for planning a flight.  Aviationweather.gov is the National Weather Service’s source for all aviation related weather products.  When I teach about weather and weather briefings, I recommend to my students to utilize Aviationweather.gov in the planning stages, but still call the Flight Service Station to get a full fledged weather briefing before takeoff.

When preflight weather planning, one of the best ways to get a picture of what is happening over a broad area is utilizing the Low Level Significant Weather Prog charts.  The Prog chart gives a forecasted 12 and 24 hour picture of what type of weather to expect over the US.  The Prog chart gives the expected flight rules, areas of turbulence, and where the freezing level is located.  If you’re looking at the 4 panel view, the Surface Prog chart shows fronts, pressure areas, and areas of expected precipitation.  That covers just about everything, doesn’t it?

I believe the Prog charts are underutilized in planning.  Foreflight and Garmin Pilot have given easy access to radar pictures, satellite pictures, METARs, TAFs, and several other sources of weather information.  But, a lot of the easy access data you can get from those apps is current data (with the exception of the TAF) while a lot of the forecast data takes some hunting around.  So, products like Prog charts aren’t often utilized.

The other problem arises when pilots know about Prog charts, but don’t know how to read them, then don’t know how to find the legend to decipher the chart, the chart is often set aside and quickly forgotten about just because of a lack of knowledge.  Have no fear, though, as now we will use an example 4 panel Prog chart to decipher the lines and colorations.

Just looking at the Low Level Significant Weather Prog Chart above, it can be a little confusing.  That’s why they make a legend!

Coupling the legend with the chart above, we can determine some things.  First, California, parts of the Pacific Northwest, a small part of southern Arizona, and a good portion of the Midwest and East coast are going to have marginal VFR conditions in the next 12 hours.  Wisconsin, Illinois, a good portion of the Northeast, and a small portion of the Pacific Northwest will suffer IFR from IFR conditions.  There are going to be a good amount of low level turbulence in the northern and eastern parts of the country.  Finally, the freezing level starts at the surface running in a jagged line across the midwest states and curling up into the Northeast.

That’s a good bit of information, isn’t it?  If a pilot is planning a VFR flight into the Northeast tonight, it would probably be best to wait for another day, according to this chart.

Now, to see what is causing the conditions above, we need to look at the Surface Prog Chart.

The green circular areas above show that some form of precipitation is in that area.  The circular dots with the triangle located in Mexico and Baja California are depicting moderate rain showers.  If the triangle was gone, it would just be moderate rain.  In the northeast, all those symbols are showing moderate to heavy snow showers.  Across the plains, we see a lot of high pressure, meaning visibility and nice flying weather.

These charts are invaluable when it comes to flight planning, especially over long distances when the weather could be changing a lot over the period of your flight.  Put them to use the next time you are planning a trip and you’ll learn you have a much better picture of what the weather is doing.

Recurrent Flight Training

ByHank Gibson August 7, 2014August 7, 2014

As all pilots know, the Federal Aviation Regulations require licensed pilots to go through recurrent flight training in the form of a Flight Review every 24 months.  The regulations require 1 hour of ground review and a 1 hour flight.  This is all that a pilot has to do to legally maintain his or her VFR currency to fly alone in an airplane.  Of course, when passengers are aboard, the pilot has to have done 3 takeoffs and landings in the previous 90 days.

What if the pilot in question hasn’t flown in 20 years?  All the regulations require is 1 hour of ground review and a 1 hour flight.  Kind of scary, isn’t it?  (Any instructor worth his salt would not, however, turn a pilot loose with just those flight review minimums if they haven’t flown in 20 years without an extensive amount of recurrent flight training)

Now, a lot can happen in 2 years in between those flight reviews.  Regulations change, airspace is modified, and skills change (for the better or worse, most often for the worse over a period of not flying).   For a current pilot who flies once or twice a week, those minimums are no problem.  Here’s the thing, though.  Even those current pilots typically don’t do a lot of stall practice or emergency procedure practice on their own.  These are the most critical areas of flight and to only do them every two years leads to a lot of rust building up, sometimes even causing safety concerns in some instances.

How to remedy this?  Scheduling recurrent flight training as often as possible with a good instructor who puts you through your paces.  Do this often enough and stalls will become second nature.  The stall warning horn goes off?  Well, lower the nose and add power.  Engine failure?  Switch tanks and set best glide.  Recurrent flight training allows you to become as familiar as possible with your airplane, allowing you to know what to do in every circumstance.

What’s a good recurrent flight training schedule?  There are several options out there.  The WINGs program is a pretty good option, though you will only have 3 flight training sessions in those two years instead of 1, but it’s a good start.  In recent years, the FAA has put out Advisory Circular 61-98B encouraging pilots to begin personal currency programs for themselves.  The suggested schedule for VFR recurrent flight training is every 4-6 weeks.

Texas Top Aviation highly recommends this suggested schedule, for both VFR and IFR.  The AC doesn’t have a specific recommendation for IFR recurrent flight training, but flying 2-3 approaches a month with an instructor helps keep pilots as proficient as possible in the IFR environment.   This way, the instructor can introduce circumstances in a controlled environment that simulate abnormal conditions that might possibly be encountered in flight.  If those abnormal conditions are encountered, then it will be second nature on how to handle them, leading to less accidents and safer flying habits.

Try to schedule your recurrent flight training every 4-6 weeks and your piloting skills will stay top notch, keeping you safe and proficient in every circumstance.