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Aviation History
2001
2001 - 2286.PDF
Flight Test Cirrus SR22 Cirrus' second production model is stronger, heavier and faster than its sibling, but the SR22 is more than just a power upgrade WORDS AND PHOTOGRAPHS DAVE HIGDON / TAMPA •lying Cirrus Design's new SR22 light aircraft above the south-east edge of the Tampa, Florida, air space, my eyes scanned for traffic while my mind scanned for something about the aircraft that was elud ing me. By the end of an afternoon spent with the company's second production model, it became clear: the SR22 amounts to a completely different model, not sim ply an SR20 on steroids. Experience prompted me to assume there would be a down side to simply hanging more horsepower on the front of an otherwise well-balanced aircraft. But no comparison between the SR20 and SR22 is really valid because the aircraft differ in significant ways. Cirrus has executed an evolutionary step . in the SR22 that goes beyond a simple 55% horsepower boost. Using the roomy four- place fuselage of the SR20 as the starting point, the company has created a machine that is stronger, heavier and faster. But in producing this brawnier model, Cirrus has sacrificed neither the harmony and balance, nor the stability and sensitiv ity that makes the original a speedy, solid aircraft - accessible to the novice yet satis fying for the veteran. Demands average skills The 230kW (310hp) SR22 delivers more in pay load and performance than the 150kW SR20, but without including characteristics that might worry less experienced pilots. The flying demands fall within the realm of any private pilot with average skills: if only this was true of some of the older high-performance designs generally flown by the average weekend pilot. That said, it takes more than entry-level experience to execute and appreciate all that the SR22 offers. Couple novice- friendly ease of handling with its advanced systems and hardware, and you have an aircraft capable of making instrument flight level easier. According to Alan Klapmeier, who with brother Dale gave life to Cirrus Design in the late 1980s, the design goal for the SR22 was to produce a growth model matching the best-in-class capabilities of its SR20. But the SR22 would be its own aircraft, and more than just a horsepower upgrade, Klapmeier said when he confirmed the programme in April 1999, only a few months after winning SR20 certification in October 1998. Cirrus has been true to Klapmeier's word. Differences between the models abound - aside from the obvious engine difference. The SR22 uses Teledyne Continental's 230kW IO-550, while the SR20 has a 150kW IO-360. The company made a couple of signifi cant changes to the wing for the SR22 - some visible, others not. Inside, the main spar received about 18kg (401b) of struc tural strengthening to better handle the aircraft's 1,544kg gross weight. Outside, a pair of 0.45m (18in) wingtip extensions increase the SR22's span to 11.7m - about lm longer than the SR20's. The wing also attaches to the fuselage about 8cm further back to counter the higher weight of the more-powerful Continental and its three-blade Hartzell propeller. Taller landing gear raises the SR22 by about 8cm to increase ground clearance for the 2m-diameter propeller. Just ahead of each wing root, Cirrus engineers have mounted a vortex genera tor (VG) on the fuselage. This improves low-speed handling by keeping air flowing over the wing at high angles of attack. The VGs stop working just above stall speed, allowing stalls to begin at the wing root and move outboard toward the tips. Cirrus has also given the SR22 dual 24V electrical systems - primary and back-up - to reliably power a panel devoid of air- driven gyro instruments. It has no vacuum system, instead relying on an all-electric panel - another difference from the SR20. The electrical system consists of two alternators, two regulators, two batteries and two electrical buses - primary and 78 19-25 JUNE 2001 FLIGHT INTERNATIONAL
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