Notes for a New Cirrus Owner:
COPA – Become a member of the Cirrus Owners and Pilots Association. It will be the best $65/year you will ever spend. This group has literally saved me tens of thousands of dollars in three and half years of ownership. Join, search (stalk), and learn. There are many different types of people and as time goes by, you will learn who matters and who is just full of it.
Oil Changes – I do mine about every 40 hours. According to Mike Busch, who has written several articles about the topic and has a C310 with something like 3500 hrs on his engines with no overhaul, swears by the following:
· Tempest AA48109 filter
· Aero Shell W100 (NOT PLUS)
· Camguard
I do oil samples with Blackstone. They cost a little more than AOA, but are much better and more detailed. Their bottle kits are free and you only pay when you send them a sample ($25). This is a must if you want to maintain your engine properly and catch any issues before they happen. http://www.blackstone-labs.com/
If you don’t have a quick drain plug on your engine, you need to get one installed. This will make life much easier for you if you are changing your own oil. If your mechanic is doing it, he will appreciate it as well.
Garfinkle Device – This is a 5/8” radiator tube cut approximately 5” long and tapered at one end. This will help keep the belly of your plane clean. G1s need it to be a bit longer. Some use a clamp to keep it on, but I have found that press fit works just fine.
Sparkplugs – If you have Fine Wire Plugs, get rid of them and replace with Tempest Massives (URHB32E). There is a SB from Cirrus (SB2X-74-01) and Continental on issues with Fine Wire Plugs, and the Tempest seem to work the best and cost less as well.
Airspeeds & Landing – Fly the plane by the numbers for landing. If you fly too fast (even a few knots), the plane will float and cause issues. If you fly it too slow, it could stall and kill you. Fly it as the POH states: Downwind 100 knots, Base 90 knots, Final 80 knots. THEN, as you approach the “fence” adjust accordingly. If at max gross weight, fly 80 knots and once over the numbers, slowly pull power to idle, maintain proper attitude and let her settle down. If I am not at max gross weight, then I fly one knot slower on short final for every 100 pounds under, but never slower than 74 knots. If you have a bad approach GO AROUND! If you bounce, GO AROUND! If you float, just let it settle in, unless you have a short runway, then GO AROUND! A good CSIP is really a must to get a pilot to get good/safe landings in a Cirrus.
CAPS – For me I use 400’ AGL as my CAPS altitude. Some use 500’, however the lowest “certified” altitude for CAPS is 400’. If I am above 400’ and I have an engine failure, I’m pulling CAPS. If I am below 400’ AGL, then I’m going to have to attempt to land the plane someplace. Statics show that my chances are significantly higher if I use CAPS, than to try to attempt an off airport landing, so this is why I climb at Vy to 400’ as quickly as possible.
Cover Position - During preflight, take the cover for the CAPS off or put it behind the handle, so that the handle is exposed and “AVAILABLE.” This is a critical step in my opinion, because if the cover is on, that is one more thing you are trying to pull off when you might be in a spin or at an unusual attitude and it is unlikely you will be able to do it, or just won’t have the time.
Take Off – Before taking off, I always calculate what 400’, so that I know what CAPS altitude is. As I pass though 400’, I do a flow check: CAPS, MAPS, FLAPS
· I state “CAPS active” and touch the handle
· Change MFD from the EMAX engine page to the Map page
· Put flaps up
Landings – When my TAWS states “500’” on descent, I state “CAPS not Active” or “CAPS not an Option.” Once again, if I’m below 500’ AGL I’m going for the airport, if above it I’m pulling CAPS.
Hot Starts – There are MANY techniques on this and you will have to try them and see what works for your aircraft. Alex Wolf on COPA probably has the best technique and you can see his videos on Youtube.
UPDATE - After trying every technique, I finally figured out what works 99.9% of the time. If I stop for only a short break to get fuel or something. All I do is Full Mixture, Full Throttle, boost pump on (and listen for the fuel to start flowing), throttle half, and crank. DO NOT LET UP ON THE STARTER UNTIL THE MOTOR HAS TRULY CAUGHT. Just give it a second before letting up on the key. If you do this, it will keep running no problem. Once it catches and is RUNNING, back off the throttle to normal RPMs and turn off the boost pump. This technique works GREAT for me, so hopefully it will help someone else out too!
Lean of Peak (LoP) – Highly recommend that you fly LoP to not only save money, but to take better care of your engine. Search COPA for LoP and Gordon Feingold has a document posted on how to do this properly.
Here is a video by Alex Wolf that explains it also:
Oil Cap – Every time you shut your aircraft down, I would recommend opening up your oil filler cap and let the engine breath for 15-20 minutes. One issue with these engines (any aircraft engine) is that they get a lot of moisture in them. If they aren’t flown regularly, they will get rust and corrosion to form inside the engine. By opening up your filler cap, you will allow some of that moisture to evaporate out of the engine, which will help with the health of your engine. Just make sure that it isn’t windy or that there isn’t any sand, grit, etc floating around that can get inside the filler hole. If it is a little windy, I will open the cap and pull it up a few inches, close the oil filler door, and put in the cowl plugs. This way the engine can breath and not get contaminated.
TKS –
TKS Operation – Once a month, turn the system on low and then after a few minutes high. Run for about 5-minutes. This will keep the system working properly and not let the wing panels dry out.
TKS Filters - Service centers will state that you need to replace these ever 2-years. Total BS and unnecessary. There is no contaminated TKS fluid that can even get into the system and this is just a waste of money.
IRAN, OH, Replace – Airplanes are expensive and unless you have a deep checkbook, I would look at IRAN, Overhaul, before a flat out replacement of many parts on an aircraft. Many mechanics, especially with the bad economy, are looking for cash. You will find a lot of unnecessary expenses being offered by places because they need the money. Very rarely is it a good idea to replace anything that can’t be IRAN’d (Inspect, Replace As Necessary) or overhauled. Starter Adapters are a prime example of this. Ask questions, research on COPA and don’t let mechanics just start swapping things out!
Avionics Data Packages – How much money you want to spend is obviously up to you. Here is what I do, since I have found that much of it is unnecessary and I just don’t want to spend the money:
XM Weather - $600 a year for the Aviator Package – Best money spent! You have a glass cockpit, so use the technology and enjoy it. The key things the Aviator package gives you is winds aloft and icing.
MFD Nav Data - $300/year. This is the data that is on the MFD that gives you airports and VOR frequencies etc. This is really not necessary since you have to update your G430/G650 databases anyway. Just keep in mind that if you “search” on the MFD it COULD be outdated. I flew my plane all over the country last year and never once found it to be outdated. If you can’t find something or a frequency, just check your G430/G650 since it will be current.
G430/G650 Nav Data – You have two of these (one per box) and they are something like $300-400 each/year. I only get one and keep my #1 radio (top) current. Then every month, I swap out the card with the bottom unit, so the #2 is only a month old. This saves me money and I just don’t see a reason to pay it since I never use the #2 to navigate. You won’t be able to cross fill data between the two units, but that has never been an issue for me. This obviously is personal preference.
Jeppessen Charts (CMAX) – These are nice to have and I have grown accustom to having them because they are right there for ease of use. The georeferenced plates are nice, but I don’t find that function all that necessary. As it is, you will have a magenta line on two G430/G650s, the MFD, and possibly the PFD, so it’s pretty hard to get lost on an approach! I would say try them and see what you think, but they are EXTREMELY expensive ($1000/year). Last year I purchased an iPad that will probably replace these since I think they are a rip off. I like having them, just not paying the outrageous prices!
iPad – I use Foreflight for almost everything. This gives me backup charts in case my CMAX dies, or in case my passenger wants to look. I also use the enroute charts now exclusively and never use the paper charts. At $75/year, it’s pretty hard to beat and a bit more justifiable. You can also get georeferenced plates for a bit more if you really think you need them.
This is just some good info to get you started. Much of this comes from people much smarter than me and that have been doing it from a lot longer than me. I have been doing these practices for a few years now and have had great success, so hopefully this will help you out as well. Buy a Cirrus and love it! They are a fantastic, comfortable, safe aircraft and the best value on the market hands down!
