I think they will add wheel cowlings later. i think right now they may just be testing the plane and possibly want to see the performance without cowlings.
Is the US use of 4 seat trainers due to AUW considerations?
A 2 seat Cirrus, with the almost the same max AUW might make sense.
Maoraigh wrote:
Is the US use of 4 seat trainers due to AUW considerations?
A 2 seat Cirrus, with the almost the same max AUW might make sense.
I think it’s a combination of factors. Sometimes gross weight, sometimes wanting to be a little more comfortable while learning and for flight schools sometimes wanting to carry a student observer in the back. Also sometimes wanting to fly a newer or more impressive plane. Three out of four of those factors would be satisfied by a relatively large two seat design. The back windows of this prototype are shaped differently than those on production Cirruses, and it does look like a two-seat configuration in that regard.
All that said, you still see a lot of C152s being used for training and student solo flying in the US, although few C150s now because the training & rental people have more or less standardized on Lycoming engines.
I don’t know how commonly it’s done, but I have heard of students being paired so that one sits in the back seat and watches the first have a lesson, before having the same lesson themselves. I can imagine it might work well, and would make the use of a 4 seater less wasteful.
