It depends what you mean by a medium skilled pilot – from experience if your background is a 172 then the systems aside you will do very well to master a Cirrus in one hour – between three and six hours would be far more realistic.
Which would also be the same if you were moving to a Mooney or any other fast more complex single although at least you don’t have to worry about it being retractable. My only point being that I don’t think a Cirrus is uniquely difficult to learn to fly.
I agree – in fact in many ways it is a lot simpler. I think there is a good comparison between say a DA42 and most other twins. In both the DA42 and the Cirrus the designers have really thought about making the functionality and ergonomics as easy as possible and I think they have been really successful. Certainly I found it was quite a transition from a 42 to a conventional twin although I am pleased that I did it the other way around so the 42 seemed unbelievably straight forward.
I think what happens with any pilot moving to a faster single is that of course (and as we all know) they get behind the aircraft just because of the speed BUT and here is the catch if the functionality is less well developed the problems increase because of all the extra intereaction with the aircraft. That is typically what happens with a conventional twin where you are dealing with multiple levers, gauges, undercarriage, cowl flaps etc. That is why I suggested making sure if you are moving to glass you are really comfortable with the display because at the exact time you are getting to grips with the speed you dont need to be struggling with the display.
With any of these aircraft just getting used to the extra speed is one thing and if you only have that to deal with the transition is relatively straight forward. I suspect that is why in some ways a conventional HP single like a TB20 or Mooney with bog standard display is so much more straight forward. Anyone accustom to a TB20 will fly a Cirrus with ease because all they are struggling with at first are the avionics.
All that said the Cirrus is slippery and certainly does just take that little bit extra forethought when it comes to slowing down.
I have flown an SR22 and didn’t have any trouble at all with it.
However the lack of a speed brake (draggy retractable gear 
) means that some “dodgy” descents will get out of hand, so you have to start further back.
Avionics systems is a huge area and I would not underestimate this at all. I see too many people fly G1000 aircraft and they only just about know how to set the transponder code. In fact I would say that is more common than not on the rental scene. I recently spoke to somebody who used to rent out a DA42 and that’s what he said. You do have to be very familiar with the stuff because you don’t want to be fiddling with the knobs while trying to depart or arrive/land. I know many PPL holders who made it clear they will never understand it – I guess self selection keeps them out of that market segment. I am sure Rhino won’t have a problem but it still needs to be learnt. Things have much progressed since I got my TB20 in 2002 and could not find a single instructor at Shoreham who even knew how an HSI worked, let alone the KLN94…
Avionics systems is a huge area and I would not underestimate this at all. I see too many people fly G1000 aircraft and they only just about know how to set the transponder code.
I watched with total disbelief from the back seat when a new DA42 owner and his flight instructor flew the whole x/c route by simply hitting the ‘direct’ key repeatedly on the G1000 and entered the next waypoint as they went along the route. They had no idea how to enter a flight plan. You wouldn’t believe how common avionics illiteracy really is. Sure, the G1000 UI is genuinely appalling, but still – spending a couple of hours & mastering just the basics isn’t really rocket science. (now, a 430/530 I do empathise with… 
)
That’s ridiculous. I taught my 12 year old son how to enter a route into the GNS430, call up vertical navigation, load approach charts onto the MFD, scroll between the pages of the MFD and other stuff like that …
That’s ridiculous. I taught my 12 year old son how to enter a route into the GNS430, call up vertical navigation, load approach charts onto the MFD, scroll between the pages of the MFD and other stuff like that …
My bold. Herein lies the problem – a 12 year old who has grown up in a tech-savvy household will prob90 beat most of us old(er) farts at these things.
I think that the various avionic simulator programs are a must for anyone who wants/needs to fly with glass – or even a 430. You just need to be comfortable dealing with these UIs before getting into the airplane.
My bold. Herein lies the problem – a 12 year old who has grown up in a tech-savvy household will prob90 beat most of us old(er) farts at these things.
Well… I started using computers when I was around 16. I am now 54 and a have been an IT academic/professional my whole life. And I think that the G1000 user interface is completely horrible and unreasonably difficult to learn. GNS430/530 is better only because there is less stuff to keep track of.
Yes, I know that a kid who had an iPad available with 3 has a better chance to learn all that stuff … especially when he has a father with airplanes, computers everywhere, and all the other gadgets …
But still: To put a route into a 430 is really simple and still 50 percent of the pilots use DIRECTS. I know how arrogant it sounds but I think it’s mostly ignorance and unwillingness to learn something new.
The G1000 interface, i agree, is bad. Avidyne is MUCH better in that respect, and I don’t say that because I couldn’t afford a Perspective Cirrus when I bought mine. (I couldn’t but it’s still not the reason why i say it).
Avidyne is more intuitive there is little doubt.
That said it would be interesting to contemplate how you would make either a great deal more intuitive. The ergonomics are to some extent limited by the twin dials. Touch screen is far far better and the new mini touch screen on the Garmin setup works really well. The integration of the G1000 is also better than Avidyne although the redundancy of 430 that you can independently access is quite attractive.
But still: To put a route into a 430 is really simple
THAT I totally agree with. What I was trying to say is that the generation who has grown up with GUIs and computers in general will / has a much quicker grasp of these things than people who grew up with the telex as the nec-plus-ultra of communication (yes, really!).
@Airbone Again
I started using computers when I was around 16. I am now 54
With respect – what computer were you using in 1976 ??
