Yes, but bear in mind the aircraft is at least 2-3 years from the market. It’s a flying prototype, and the purpose of the test was clearly give people a rough idea of what to expect with some first impressions. You can expend energy on being hypercritical…but it’s a bit premature.
Masterofnone,
You read the Panthera article. What bits of information did you find interesting or useful, and how would you think about buying the aircraft based solely on the review?
Nobody would do that of course, but just for arguments sake.
I didn’t find anything really useful in there myself to be honest.
He may be a test pilot but I don’t see where all that vast knowledge displayed itself in the article. This is a guy whose day job is to present aircraft performance in stick forces, damping periods, acceleration/deceleration rates etc. Stable IFR platform? In reference to what?
I have yet to find a flight test report four a four seat tourer which says “unstable IFR platform”… 
Yes, very little useful in there, but that’s true for all flight test reports. It’s the same report that appeared in fliegermagazin by the way (which didn’t hinder fliegermagazin to call it an “exclusive” flight test… ).
About the only interesting piece of information was the cruise speed number (177 knots). Obviously, they could even temper with these numbers a bit as well, but I guess they wouldn’t. With normally aspirated aircraft, climbing to FL75 and then running it full throttle/full RPM is legitimate by the way; it is the “standard” by which all normally aspirated aircraft are measured and compared (75% power). Not used by all in practice, but OK for comparison.
BTW, 380kg useful load with full tanks? Well, they will have to increase fuel capacity at some point, so make that 330kgs. Add the parachute and a anti-ice system (would you want to fly IFR with such a wing and no anti-ice??) and you’ll end up with 250kgs. Industry standard.
The guy who wrote the test is called Christian Briand, who amongst other things …
Then he should be able to write a decent flight test, shouldn’t he?
The test does have the feel of being a press release… not much precise info. You’d think they’d understand that the average new aircraft buyer, ones with cash in hand, want a bit more information than a Mr Spontaneous Suburban New Car Buyer. Or maybe the intent is just to sell magazines and advertising.
Did I understand correctly that they’re going to stick in a parallel valve 540 versus the heavier angled valve variant? That would make sense given that going from an angle valve four to a parallel valve six would minimize the weight gain. The parallel valve engines are also a lot cheaper.
Krister, as you say, (most likely) nobody would base a decision to by 500 grand’s worth of aircraft on the basis of a consumer mag article. If the material were presented in “Flight engineering review” or some similarly named technical publication, I think there’d be grounds for readership disappointment. But it’s not, it’s a consumer mag article which including pictures was planned to provide a few pages of fairly light hearted reading in between adverts. Consequently this guy wouldn’t be able to bring his full knowledge to bear, because he would not get the space and very few people would want to read it even if he did. It’s the same reason why consumer electronics magazines don’t punctuate an iPhone/latest android phone review with a discussion of solid state theory. If that level of detail is your bag, perhaps you could subscribe to the Panthera’s certification test reports? 
If I were to be in the market for a 1/2 million euro aircraft, I’d be flying all possible options, irrespective of what the reviews said. The reviews just orient you to potential gotchas.
Just out of interest…general question to all with an opinion…..what kind of flight test article would be your desert island reading?
The test does have the feel of being a press release
If the industrial control (my business) trade press is anything to go by, “advertorials” are absolutely standard i.e. there is a vendor-sponsored feature which is flanked by paid-for (obviously) advertising. The two are linked. For example I get a free “editorial” (I submit the text, say 300 words) if I place a 1/4 page advert for say £400.
nobody would base a decision to by 500 grand’s worth of aircraft on the basis of a consumer mag article
True. Also by the time they stick a few VHF etc antennae on top… each one robs you of about 0.5kt and it soon adds up. It is the final product that counts i.e. the IO540 one. Also, because they are now playing in the top-notch price bracket, they will need to deliver “top notch everything”, starting from a Porsche designed (or whatever – you get my drift) cockpit, top notch cockpit furniture and controls (€50 aerospace-grade switches, etc), and a high quality customer service experience. The last one is what Cirrus owners expect and is expensive to deliver. If I was them I would cut out all dealers and deal direct with the end users, and spend a part of the considerable money thus saved on a vastly improved customer service. One only has to think of Socata and the constant wars they fought with their dealers, which poisoned the whole piston business.
what kind of flight test article would be your desert island reading?
A flight test of the Lancair Evolution All the way to the operating ceiling, stalls, near-aerobatic flight, etc.
Just out of interest…general question to all with an opinion…..what kind of flight test article would be your desert island reading?
To stay with the French authors:
André Turcat: Concorde – Essais et Batailles (http://www.amazon.com/Concorde-Essais-batailles-French/dp/2234005418/ref=la_B001K7AA02_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1398543076&sr=1-1) There is also one by Brian Trubshaw, but Turcat writes much better.
My trade, or one of them, is marketing. Hence, I found the article on the Panthera to be too much of that and too little of an article.
I did make the point previously that a magazine flogging everything would be of little interest, and as you say, so would an article with nothing but data points from a flight test.
It’s a fine balance, and in this case, the balance was off, in my view.
I’d bring any article that brought forward a real break through in packaging of light aircraft. 200 kts on 5 gph (or hybrid drive), stall speed at 20 kts and pressurized comfort for my family of 7. All for the cost of a medium luxury sedan. Obviously not planning on visiting any desert islands soon… Waiting for Synergy Aircraft to make that break through.
How can I get an electronic copy of that paper? (or the article)
Looked at the website if I could find it but nothing sais how to get electronic editions. Don’t want to subscribe but simply to buy this issue.
I sometimes buy it at the news stand but at my current position the next one is kinda far away…
