If they can be upgrafed at all. Some apparently can not.
Airplanes without the 1.5 or better 1.7 status are next to useless.
The Cirrus Jet will be a game changer as the cost and capabilities will be fantastic.
If you have sat in the Eclipse and then sit in the Cirrus jet, it is a world of difference in terms of space inside and the views outside the aircraft…such huge windows.
With a cost of usd $2 million, it will be cheaper than many turbo props and I suspect that lots of groups of 4 to 6 pilots will form around these aircraft.
300kt cruise, 7 seats, 800 mile range (with payload) and the avionics look amazing (just announced special G3000 panel)
….and it will be the first jet with a parachute!!
What an amazing machine!!
Cirrus-Man – That Cirrus Jet is looking very underwhelming … have a look at this thread for a reality check: Cirrus jet limited to FL280
Cirrus will get the RVSM at a later stage.
They have sold 550 delivery positions so that is about the first 5 years of production and the main thing they want to do is get the “Generation 1” aircraft certified as quickly as possible and RVSM is much harder to get certified and also more for the type rating.
They are keeping it simple for the certification and launch and then will bring in enhancements as they role out the G2, G3 etc versions like they did with the SR series.
FL280 is high enough to be above most weather and out of the icing layers (although she will be fully FIKI) and getting 300kts vs 190 is also a big improvement.
$2 million is a lot but an absolute bargain when compared to the TBM or Meridien.
Cirrus_Man wrote:
FL280 is high enough to be above most weather and out of the icing layers (although she will be fully FIKI) and getting 300kts vs 190 is also a big improvement.
… but not high enough for any reasonable efficiency with that turbo-fan.
$2 million is a lot but an absolute bargain when compared to the TBM or Meridien.
Not so sure it is when you look at the WHOLE picture …
Cirrus_Man wrote:
Cirrus will get the RVSM at a later stage.
Do you have any source for that? Is this your prediction, their wish, or is it in any way to be reasonably expected? Because with only one engine and many systems depending on it, RVSM certification doesn’t seem like an easy thing to do.
Cirrus_Man wrote:
FL280 is high enough to be above most weather and out of the icing layers (although she will be fully FIKI) and getting 300kts vs 190 is also a big improvement.
Yeah but the SFC (fuel consumption) of a turbofan at FL280 stinks. It does not make sense to operate at that altitude.
Cirrus_Man wrote:
$2 million is a lot but an absolute bargain when compared to the TBM or Meridien.
It is cheap (if it ever comes to market at that price) but the capabilities are very much limited compared to a TBM. The range and payload are simply not comparable and the TBM is even faster.
There’s nothing I would wish more than severe competition for the TBM. The aircraft’s price is totally inflated, it’s at least $1m overpriced. Socata have so little competition, they didn’t even bother updating the antiquated G1000 when they did the TBM 900.
Cirrus_Man wrote:
Cirrus will get the RVSM at a later stage.
I’ve read thousands of “aircraft x will get feature y in the future” and very few of them ever turned out true. The Eclipse is the best example of that. I respect Cirrus for being able to deliver and much more than that being able to improve existing products but the whole Cirrus Jet project was started when general euphoria blurred people’s minds. It’s a miracle they didn’t kill it. For sure they wouldn’t start such a project post 2008…
Just my prediction re RVSM and yes it will take some time and tweaks which is why they will do it later.
Fuel is such a small factor in the “total cost of ownership” and if you are buying a $2 million aircraft, it doesnt have to be the most efficient.
The real kicker for the Cirrus Jet buyer is that I believe they will raise the purchase price by $300 to $500k after certification so the early buyers will be able to fly their jet for years and suffer minimal if any depreciation and depreciation is the single biggest cost of ownership dwarfing fuel cost.
Cirrus Man – True, the fuel cost is a smaller part of the equation fro a $2M plane, but it’s the Speed VS Range equation that takes a serious hit !
I believe the everyday cruise speed is something like 210 knots – that 300K figure burns a bunch more fuel..
Do you have the real numbers handy ?
ps: If you don’t think gas-guzzling is important to the true “value” of a given aircraft – go look at early Citations : they can be had for less than a used SR22, …
BTW: in Europe the Cirrus Jet is not very attractive because it falls under the definition of Complex Aircraft and you have to operate it based on Part NCC which means runway calculations, ops manual and a lot more. That’s not a factor in the US.
I don’t see how the Cirrus Jet benefits from being a jet. It is slower than a turboprop and burns a lot of extra fuel. A Cirrus TBM would be a much more sensible addition to the market. Born out of the pre-crisis frenzy…
Cirrus_Man wrote:
The real kicker for the Cirrus Jet buyer is that I believe they will raise the purchase price by $300 to $500k after certification so the early buyers will be able to fly their jet for years and suffer minimal if any depreciation and depreciation is the single biggest cost of ownership dwarfing fuel cost.
Almost sounds like Vern Raburn 
