Monday, April 29, 2024

Dave Rathbun, Engineer Behind Cirrus Aircraft Designs, Killed in Crash of SR22

cirrus design corp sr22

As in, take the SR22 to 12,000 msl and above, live with 55 percent power, and get about 900 nautical miles at almost 170 knots — still very respectable. And if you can tolerate the idea of 16,000 or 17,000 msl, the SR22 improves on its efficiency to give you more than 175 knots while covering more than 930 nautical miles. The performance of the SR22’s autopilot experience improves when the Cirrus Executive package is added. This package adds a yaw damper to the aircraft, the yaw damper can be controlled by the autopilot improving the flight experience.

cirrus design corp sr22

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His presence and character will be missed, but his legacy will be indelible. A key contributor throughout his 26 years at Cirrus Aircraft, Dave played a crucial role in the early design and certification of the SR20. Following similar work on the SR22 and SR22T, Dave was instrumental in the development and successful entry into service of the SF50 Vision Jet. A crucial player in the establishment of Cirrus’s SR and SF model lines, Rathbun was flying a non-company Cirrus.

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And there are other changes you might notice with the two planes parked side-by-side. For example, the SR22 boasts a taller landing gear set, raising the SR22 about three inches for greater ground clearance with the big 78-inch Hartzell prop. As an average-to-short pilot, I noticed the taller gear did change the view somewhat during taxiing, while assuring a slightly earlier arrival on the ground.

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Cirrus opted for wide rocker switches, labeled for easy reading, to control the master, avionics, back-up electrical system, and fuel boost-pump. Near the right side of this surface sit the dimmers for the interior lights. The SR22, certified in November 2000, is a more powerful version of the earlier SR20. The SR22 is a low-wing cantilever monoplane of composite construction, featuring fixed (non-retractable) tricycle landing gear with a castering nose wheel and steering via differential braking on the main wheels. It is powered by a nose-mounted 310 hp (231 kW) Continental IO-550-N piston engine. The four-seat cabin is accessed through doors on both sides of the fuselage.

Not only are the flying qualities ideally suited for that role, but a pilot would, when trained in an SR20, be proficient at operating the latest in electronics, including the autopilot. The avionics packages for the 20 are about the same as for the 22. Just flying the SR22 around is a lot of fun because the view is so spectacular. It rides good in the bumps, too, because of relatively high wing loading. It is a complete airplane with the only option a WX-500 Stormscope that plays through the multifunction display. Cirrus will have the Goodrich Skywatch collision avoidance system approved shortly and expects to add more options to play through the multifunction display.

2001 Cirrus SR22 - FLYING

2001 Cirrus SR22.

Posted: Sun, 12 Aug 2001 07:00:00 GMT [source]

But if larger wing tips and wing-fuselage interface points are a bit subtle for you where identification is concerned, when in doubt, cast a glance at the wing root. Cirrus engineers mounted a vortex generator (VG) on the fuselage just ahead of each wing root to keep air flow attached to the wing at higher angles of attack, which, in turn, improves low-speed handling. Because the VGs stop working just above stall speed, stalls still begin at the wing root and propagate normally toward the wing tips. Cirrus employed a few significant design changes in the SR22’s wing — one of those noticeable, another invisible, inside the wing.

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Where the original production Cirrus, the SR20, flies with a 200-horsepower IO-360 six-cylinder Continental, the SR22 has an IO-550 Continental six that develops 310 horsepower. Dave Higdon has a distinguished background in aviation journalism. As aviation editor for The Wichita Eagle for more than five years, he has established a reputation as one of the best general aviation reporters in the business. Previously, Dave held a variety of aviation journalism assignments with The Journal of Commerce, Air Transport World, and AOPA. He has covered every facet of aviation, from sport aviation in Tennessee, to the FAA in Washington, D.C., to Cessna, Beech, Boeing, and Learjet in Kansas. Dave is an instrument-rated private pilot and owns a very clean Piper Comanche.

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Too few small aircraft possess redundant suction sources; fewer also boast of electrical-system redundancy. And for too many aircraft still, the loss of either electrical or vacuum sources puts the pilot in a partial-panel situation. Not my idea of a good time to face a partial-panel approach, if a good time ever exists. The SR22’s dual 24-volt electrical system is another noteworthy change from the SR22. Primary and back-up electrical systems provide power redundancy to a panel devoid of air-powered gyro instruments — neither vacuum pumps nor air-powered gyro instruments exist in the SR22. The Cessna TTx is also known as the Cessna 400 was introduced in 2004 and is considered to be the closest competitor to the SR22.

Airborne 04.22.24: Rotor X Worsens, Airport Fees 4 FNB?, USMC Drone Pilot

Explore courses like the Private Pilot Program, Take-Offs and Landings and more. The first phase of the Vision Center opened in 2016 and the Vision Jet Flight Training Center opened in 2018. In the spring Cirrus was at a production rate of about four airplanes per work week with the goal to steadily increase that rate. At that time the order book showed deposits on 444 undelivered SR20s and 212 SR22s.

The Vision Jet™ took its inaugural flight on July 3, 2008 and the first conforming prototypes took flight in 2014. In the mid-1990’s, Cirrus discontinued production of the VK-30 and launched the SR20 – a single-piston composite airplane that changed the world of general aviation. The SR20 featured a 10-inch multi-function display and side-yoke flight controllers. Only the mixture control remains to manage between climb, cruise, and descent. And like the SR20, the SR22 preps for flight easily and quickly, with pre-flight taking no more time than any other simple airplane. You check all usual suspects — fuel, oil, wheels, tires, brake lines, control surfaces, lights, antennae — and you’ve pretty much run the lineup.

The wing was made lighter by 50 lbs (23 kg), and the size of the in-built fuel tank was increased to hold 11 US gal (40 l) more than the previous generation. A more realistic example of a secondhand aircraft is this 2012 SR22-G3 GTS. The aircraft has a total of 735 flight hours on the frame and engine.

Please note that in addition to filing the required Flight Request, investigators are responsible for contacting vendors to determine if the platform meets the requirements of the proposed scientific investigation. S-Tec’s System 55X provides pretty much the full boat in autopilot capabilities, allowing you to track a heading, a VOR radial, and a GPS course, as well as to manage your climb and descent, and hold altitude in between. And when the muck is down to minimums, the S-Tec becomes a great second-in-command, by handling the airplane through coupled approaches if you so desire. As usual, horsepower proves a significant asset for flying out of high-field-elevation airports like those found in Arizona, Colorado, Idaho, West Kansas, Montana, New Mexico, and Wyoming.

Piper’s original PA-28 Cherokee proliferated thanks to versions with 150, 160, 180, and 235 horsepower. Similar examples exist at Beech, Commander, Maule, Mooney, and beyond. The biggest change was the increased MTOW of 3,600 lbs (1,633 kg) up from 3,400 lbs (1,542 kg).

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