Try the Europa, just fun to fly 
Flyer59 wrote:
“springs in the controls”
I got to fly the SR22T for an hour a month ago…and will get another couple of hours in it next week. Then will go for full one week transition training in my own SR22T in early March.
The ‘mystery’ regarding the side stick and cable/spring system does manifest in a stiff control. The plane is flown mainly by trim inputs. These trim inputs are done with a witches hat on top of the side stick. The side stick needs to be used when making a big turn on a vector or when taking off and landing. But the movement is pretty short and does require a little muscle.
The turbo is a big engine/3-blade carbon prop and makes a lot of P-factor and torque at low speeds so right rudder is critical on takeoff and landing (more so than the smaller FD CTLSi with center stick/rod links I currently fly).
Nobody except you would fly an SR22 by trim inputs, that’s really a very strange idea.
I have no problem with the springs anyway, after two hours you forget them.
Also on landings the propeller is never a factor, only on go-arounds.
The SR2x also has no side stick, but a side yoke, which is a big difference.
Flyer59 wrote:
The SR2x also has no side stick, but a side yoke, which is a big difference.
Yep, it’s the “other” composite speedster that has a sidestick and no springies in the controls.
Nothing beats a Piper Cub, except maybe a Ka-8.
Flyer59 wrote:
big difference
We obviously are not flying the same aircraft….
The right rudder was needed to both takeoff and land and taxi in the 2015 SR22T G5….(so were the toe brakes)
No question trimming is the primary method to fly the plane….pulling/pulling/prying on the side stick (yoke) is just not possible for small, steady inputs without fatigue. I was even turning using the aileron trim, climbing/descending using elevator trim made pretty easy because the trim is a four way control on top of the side stick.
A yoke looks like a steering wheel. A stick looks like a stick. Both can be setup with rods, cables/springs. A joystick is a fly-by-wire electronic device. The Cirrus has a handle (not a steering wheel) on the side of the cockpit connected to cables and springs. Call it what you want, it is still STIFF and lacks feel of the control surfaces. Unlike the center stick in the FD CTLSi which feedbacks every lick of wind and every flitter of the control surface as you move it.
Please do not degenerate this into yet another Cirrus thread. If you want to discuss Cirrus handling any further then start a specific thread.
When I first flew a Chipmunk it was the best handling aircraft I’d flown up to then. But I then had an RV-4; even better and with performance to match that the Chippy lacked.
The RV-8 was quite similar, but marginally less sporty and heavier in pitch (probably down to the forward CG).
I’ve back-seat poled around on Harvard, Thunder Mustang, Carbon Cub amongst others.
The T6 felt very nicely balanced between stability and responsiveness, the Thunder Mustang very responsive but heavy on the controls (especially at 300 MPH). The Carbon Cub had great low speed maneuverability and that was the EX. I’m building the EX-2 now which is supposed to be even better with the new flap and aileron configuration.
I have not flown many types of aircraft, but here are my observations anyway.
Extra – It feels unstable at first, but once you become friends it gives a feeling of being able to do anything you imagine. Response is instant. Roll rate is crazy. Rudder is huge. To me it is the handling king. These qualities make it unusable en-route. Just like a race car on the road.
PC12 – only flown a few minutes demo. Felt like a bus. Disappointed.
TBM900 – so I went for a demo flight with the factory. Climbed to FL310 or so and I get the controls. Of course, I wanted to feel it first, as handling is important to me. So I started kicking the rudder like I do in my Extra. Factory pilot looking at me like a complete idiot :) Well.. it was better than a PC12.
MiG-29 – took an hour long flight in Russia some time ago. Was able to do a couple of rolls. Very different control feel than a small GA plane. The controls are boosted and I would describe it as “cyborg”. It feels like metal. Like a machine. Heavy airplane though, much slower to respond than an aerobatic airplane.
DA40 – they say it flies like a glider. Stick between legs, soft, smooth, small ailerons. A nice experience overall.
