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Upon reaching KTCL, ATC gave us hold at Brookwood (OKW) for the RNAV RWY 22 approach. Entering the hold and ap- proach was easy with the G3000.
Once entered, the autothrottle ad- justed and when we were within three minutes of our hold, slowed the Vision Jet to holding speed. When cleared for the approach, all I needed to do was activate the approach and the autothrottle did the rest. After gear and approach flap exten- sion, the jet slowed down to landing f lap speed then Vref. At the Decision Altitude, I pushed the TOGA button and the au- tothrottle and the autopilot did the rest – setting takeoff thrust and progressing on the missed approach procedure. It could not be simpler.
Airwork
For 45-degree steep turns, I ad- justed the power to 24 percent thrust (N1 70%) which gave me an IAS of 155 knots. With Garmin’s implementation of Electronic Stability Protection (ESP), when you exceed 45 degrees of bank, the autopilot provides a gentle nudge to reduce the bank.
The stall series was a non-event. The jet incorporates an effective stick shaker and pusher, and I was able to recover from a stall in less than 100 feet. Through- out all maneuvers, the jet was easy to handle and not significantly different than other turbines I fly.
Training
To gain a better perspective of the company’s training philosophy and pro- grams, I spent some time reviewing their extensive ground training, including time in the simulator with Cirrus Training Center instructor and TCE, Joe Peterson. Cirrus is dedicated to training pilots to the highest standards in the industry, with over 200 type ratings issued so far.
The simulators offer a realistic de- ployment of the Cirrus Airframe Parachute System (CAPS). I had so much fun testing the capability that I actu- ally practiced it four times at various airspeeds. If flying above the 145 KIAS deployment speed, the autopilot pitches the nose up and slows the jet to the tar- get speed.
Following a type rating, Cirrus also of- fers pilots a comprehensive mentor pilot program to enhance continued training.
Ownership Programs
In addition to a standard two-year warranty, Cirrus offers the optional Jetstream Plus and Concierge programs with varying terms of coverage. Both in- clude the Williams International Tap Blue engine program, scheduled maintenance and recurrent training. “Plus” owners basically have tip-to-tail coverage, re- ceiving all unscheduled maintenance, normal wear items, database subscrip- tions, AOG support, weather data (Sirius and Iridium) and enhanced training. Owners can expect to pay $343-$410 per hour depending on the selected program and time period.
PHOTO BY AUTHOR
How the Jet Compares
Seeing as there are no other single- engine jets in production for direct performance comparison, comparable aircraft (currently in production) based upon weight or speed are the Piper M600 and the TBM 930 turboprops. In general, when comparing aircraft, many factors come into play – operators need to evalu- ate based upon their specific missions.
On a mission basis alone, the Vision Jet G2 can fly up to 1,200 nm with a 395 pound payload. Or in the case of our 460 nm flight from TYS to NEW – 1,213 pounds. The closest current production competitor, by weight and price, is the Piper M600.
Based on my calculations, on our 460 nm mission, the M600 would burn 30 gal- lons less fuel, take 12 minutes longer and carry 1,010 pounds. If you extended your budget significantly to include the TBM 930, you would arrive five minutes ear- lier, burn 100 gallons of Jet-A and carry approximately 190 additional pounds.
But while Cirrus could have very well designed a turboprop, they smartly chose to meet the market’s demand for a single- engine jet – and their sales clearly show it was a good move. They are in a class of their own and judging by their record, we can expect Cirrus to continue evolving their latest aircraft.
After 11,000 hours of piloting over 90 aircraft models, Rich Pickett still has a passion for flying. Rich holds an ATP, CFII SME, SES, glid- er licenses, and type ratings in the L29, L39, Citation 500/510s/525s, Eclipse 500S and DA10. His company, Personal Wings, provides training, mentoring and aircraft services. You can contact Rich at rich@person- alwings.com.
April 2019 / TWIN & TURBINE • 19
G2 Vision Jet
Performance @ FL310.....309KTAS/64 GPH Max Ramp Weight .......... 6040 lbs
Max TO Weight ............... 6000 lbs ZFW................................. 4900 lbs
Max Landing Weight......................... 5550 lbs
BEW-as own-
7 Seats/TKS .................. 3678 lbs
Useful Load ................. 2362 lbs
Usable Fuel Capacity....................... 2001 lbs
Full Fuel Payload......... 394 lbs
Max Range
@300KTAS ................... 1100 nm
500 nm trip/IFR
Reserve - Payload.......... 1134 lbs
500 nm Trip -
Fuel Used ................... 152 gallons Base Price .................... $2.38M
As Flown ......................... $2.75M