My new toy on the ground in Duluth, MN. Being delivered on tuesday. Yay! Image Unavailable, Please Login
nope, just offering a ride! May want another partner if I move up to something like the Columbia 400 in a while though.
The GTS is nice, I especially like the CMax. Did you bother with the Tailwind add-ons? I want one but think I may hold out for them to get the FADEC system installed and working. I'm hoping by '07 model year it'll be a reality. Very nice, btw. RMX
I hear the CMax is great, frankly haven't seen it in person yet. Really wasn't planning on buying the GTS, but they had one just completed at the factory and the buyer switched to a later production plane, so they threw in the tailwind if I jumped on this and closed in 2 days. So I said what the heck, the GTS might have a bit better resale (or not, oh well). I haven't talked to Cirrus about the FADEC, but did talk to Columbia about it when I test flew a 400. They tested FADEC but the problem is there are something like 42 different sensors throughout the engine, and if one of them fails the plane is grounded. A FADEC autothrottle coupled to the autopilot would be nice, but managing the pwer and mixture's not really that big a deal (to me)
If you do a lot of IAP, you'll love the CMax. The GTS really is the way to go and I think it'll help resale, no problem. I think that even comes with the TKS system. I'm surprised they aren't requiring you to spend a week there in Duluth. Do you already own one of these airplanes? There's a lot to know. Anyway, enjoy it. They're excellent airplanes. Other than for the speed, I wouldn't even bother with a C-400. Columbia makes great aircraft, but I would still stick with a Cirrus. RMX
A Cirrus factory instructor's flying it down to me and spending a few days with me for some intense training. Actually, TKS is only available on the 22 (mines a 20-GTS) The complaint I hear about the Cmax is you cannot see the whole plate on one screen, you've got to scroll up and down.
Thanks for offering the ride. I have never been in one, just looked through the windows of some at SAT. Looks awesome, proabably flies better than it looks. Congrats.
yep....it's AWESOME! In for it's first oil change today. I put 17 hrs on it in 3 days. Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login
Awsome! Congrats on your new toy. Hopefully, ill get my PPL and be able to buy a plane some day...sweet
So details details. Are you totally loving the ownership so far? How is the preformance? How hard is it to get used to the side controls? Is the GTS worth the premium over the G2? It is a GREAT looking craft...enjoy it to the hilt and send us pics of the places you take it.
Thanks! The side yoke is awesome, really opens up the cockpit. The springs make it a bit strange to hold in wind correction but you get used to it. I love all the toys, so the GTS model was worth it to me. The performance is fantastic, about 75% of a SR22, which is plenty for me (right now anyway). I climb out of my local airports (1,500 - 2,000 MSL) at 95 - 100 knots and cruise around 145 at 6,000.
Had lunch on saturday at a GREAT bar-b-q place in Stephenville, TX called the Hard Eight. Awesome place to fly in, best BBQ I've ever had (and I've had a lot). The restauarant is across the street from the highway, they leave golf carts at the airport for pilots to ride over. Here we are on the ramp, new tech next to old tech! Image Unavailable, Please Login