I trained for PPL in a very basic PA28. I have no certain opinion on whether glass cockpit would be a good thing for ab initio training, but it certainly worked well for my step-up to the Cirrus.
Very impressive indeed Valentin.
I wonder, having flown the SR22T, what about the Vision Jet? Would be kind of logical upgrade? Clearly, the TBM is a much more capable airplane however.
Vision Jet has significantly smaller range and payload. Slightly lower speed and I guess it needs longer runways. That is, I don’t see any reasons to prefer it. To be honest, I don’t understand why Cirrus decided to make it a jet. They could make an excellent modern turboprop, and it would be a better product in almost every aspect.
Valentin wrote:
To be honest, I don’t understand why Cirrus decided to make it a jet.
Well, it is sold out over years. I guess that sais it all. For many Cirrus pilots, a jet is the ultimate wet dream and the Vision Jet makes it true, even if it is inferior to some turboprops. Mind, we have two here in Switzerland which are flown by people I know and they absolutely love it. That includes some airline pilots who fly it in their spare time btw.
I just noted that from a purely practical point of view (that is, achieving better specs) it did not make any sense to make it a jet. It does not mean that it did not make sense from a marketing point of view because people often make irrational decisions.
It’s great to read a story of someone which starts with starting the PPL and continues all the way to getting into some decent aircraft and going places 
Valentin wrote:
It does not mean that it did not make sense from a marketing point of view because people often make irrational decisions.
I look to Cirrus for a lot of things but the one every single manufacturer should look up at them very seriously is their marketing. Cirrus understood and profiled their clientele much better than any other manufacturer in the last 30 years. They managed to get people to buy each new version of the SR22 there was, some changing planes every two years just to have the latest one. Therefore, the jet was just logical.
There are many airplanes which are “better” in performance and “rational” reasons, yet Cirrus has outsold all the other manufacturers and made the competition (Columbia, Mooney) disappear, despite both had better performance. That is an accomplishment which tells me they know VERY well what they are doing.
Matter of fact, I’ve sat in a SF50 once so far and must say, it was a feeling of “want to have” very much. That was not so when I flew in an SR22 with an FI. There are many PPLs who are people who really wanted to fly airliners and now they actually do get the chance to fly a jet, so they will.
Even though for me personally, to fulfill that dream I’d take that money, buy a Citation I SP and use the difference to pay for fuel and maintenace for a while. Incidently I also get a kick out of 747 classic style instrumentation. And if I can make it an Eagle Conversion with the FJ44 engines and aux tanks.…. but, well… ain’t gonna happen.
But you are right, a TBM is a very capable and attractive airplane. I don’t fault your decision at all, it just means that you can see beyond the marketing. Good for you.
