- Flying Old Yaller in Alaska
Apr 2008 - Flying the Chang (Pt2)
Jun 2007 - DG-1000 in Australia
Mar 2007 - Father/Son Soaring
Dec 2006 - Flying the Nanchang CJ-6
Dec 2006 - Soaring in Australia
Dec 2006 - Soaring in the DG-303
Nov 2006 - Soaring in Poland
Jun 2006 - Soaring in the 304 CZ
May 2006 - Flying the Lake Renegade
May 2006 - Soaring in Hemet, CA
Apr 2006 - Flying the Cessna 120
Jan 2006 - Flying the Jet Caproni
Jun 2005 - Warrior Flying
2004-2005 - DG-1000 Soaring
2003-2005 - Ridge Soaring in Hawaii
Mar 2005 - Flying the 1946 Swift
Nov 2004 - Flying the Goodyear Blimp
Oct 2004 - Flying the Cirrus SR-22
Sep 2004 - Soaring in New Zealand
Mar 2004 - Check Out in the DG-1000
Sep 2003 - Ephrata Encampment
Jun 2003 - Flying the Stemme S10-VT
Oct 2002 - Darrington Expedition
Jul 2002 - Winter Soaring in Florida
Feb 2002 - Flying the T-33
Oct 2001 - Soaring in Ireland
Aug 1999 - Soaring in the U.K.
May 1999 - Flying the F-15 Eagle
1978-1987 - Other Fighters
1975-1985
Flying the Cirrus SR-22 - Sep 2004
While in Chicago at an American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA) conference, I attended the awards ceremony that was celebrating contributions of the Cirrus Aircraft Company design team to general aviation aircraft design.
Most of the AIAA attendees didn't appreciate the impressive accomplishments of the Cirrus design team present, so I stopped by their table at the end of the awards luncheon, and congratulated them on their award and on their great Cirrus aircraft. They asked me for a business card, and I expected to get a nice Cirrus brochure in a few weeks.
That evening, while still in Chicago, I got a great e-mail from John Gauch, a Cirrus regional demonstration pilot, saying that he'd have both an SR-20 and an SR-22 in Portland the following week, and to let me know which one I like him to bring to the Seattle area for me to fly! You gotta love these guys. I told John to bring up an SR-22, their top end machine, to Renton airport the following Monday.
Right on time at 2:00 on a beautiful, sunny Monday afternoon, John arrived at the base of Renton tower with a brand new SR-22G2 demo aircraft, N558CD. I had also invited my partner in my Warrior, Mark LaVille, along for a taste of the Cirrus. John Gauch took us through a thorough external pre-flight, and Mark jumped in back while I took the left seat as pilot-in-command.
The fit and finish of the Cirrus, both inside and out, is phenomenal. The interior cockpit is dominated by two huge 8x10 inch Avidyne Entegra flat panel LCD displays, which were noticeable not only for their size, but their brightness and sunlight readability. We strapped in, and John described the basic cockpit switchology, and I cranked the engine quickly, since most of the needed information is contained on the beautiful 8x10s.
John and I reviewed the displayed checklists, and I taxied for a run-up check. Steering was easy, and the checklists procedures walked me through the run-up items. I was already getting used to the feel of the left hand side stick, which is actually a "side yoke".
I was cleared for takeoff on Runway 33 at Renton, and we leaped off the runway powered by the SR-22G2's 310--HP Continental engine, and established a 1000+ FPM climb rate into a working area near the Cascade foothills. The SR-22 was equipped with a SKYWATCH system, which started providing aural alerts of traffic, including range and clock position, allowing us to easily pick up traffic as we exited out of Renton's local airspace.
IN WORK
