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I zoomed into the map on the Garmin G3000 map page and headed to Monroe County (KMIV), hoping to be at high-key at 3,000 AGL with low- key at 1,500 (abeam the touchdown). My delay would cost me valuable time and altitude, but I was determined not to try to stretch the glide with potentially disastrous results. On final it was clear I wouldn’t make it, however, the grass before the runway was smooth and after landing on it, I rolled up on the runway. At least the simulator didn’t indicate a crash with the red screen of death.
G3000 procedure trainer.
length. They cover related information such as radar, high altitude operations, meteorology, as well as Vision Jet-spe- cific content. The courses also pro- vide a basis of knowledge prior to the in-person training. The two weeks of training includes five days of ground instruction, five Systems Integration Training (SIT) lessons, five simulator sessions, and a check ride.
Cirrus is customer focused from the first contact through the comple- tion of the course. They understand their clients extremely well, and since most are new to turbine operations and training, Cirrus works diligent- ly to support their success. As you progress through the course, they adapt the learning modalities and sessions to ensure a full understand- ing of this unique aircraft and flying to ATP standards.
In my cohort of trainees, two of us had previous turbine experience, and three had none. But everyone had previous Cirrus SR22 flight time and definitely came prepared. My primary advice to anyone seeking their first type rating is to commit to advance studying and perfecting your IFR competency. This way you can devote energy and focus on the jet experi- ence itself. If you are not prepared, the journey is more difficult, stressful and not as much fun!
John Fiscus, Pierce Lane and Joe Hogan were our initial instructors – all working diligently to transfer as much of their knowledge to us as possible in five days. John and Joe are contractors with extensive experience with Cirrus aircraft, which proved invaluable in
Thankfully, my subsequent attempt was more successful, with a nice land- ing back at Knoxville. The Williams International FJ-series engines have an excellent safety record and the chance of a fire is very remote. How- ever, if this would have happened in the real jet and a safe landing wasn’t possible, I could have simply used two hands, grabbed the Cirrus Aircraft Parachute System (CAPS) activation handle and pulled. Another day in the bag in my pursuit of a Cirrus Vision Jet type rating.
Time for the Type
After flying and writing several ar- ticles on the Cirrus Vision Jet, I wanted to add a type rating for the jet and com- pare their unique training program to others I’ve completed. Having owned both the SR20 and SR22 and previously being an active Cirrus Standardized Instructor Pilot (CSIP), I was intrigued
14 • TWIN & TURBINE / June 2022
Vision Jet in flight.
by the Cirrus training methodology since 80 percent of Vision Jet owners previously owned one of their singles. While some corporations and char- ters use their aircraft, Cirrus’ prima- ry focus is owner-operators, specifi- cally those transitioning from Cirrus piston aircraft.
With my turbine experience and type ratings, I was qualified to bypass some of the pre-training detailed below. Prior to my arrival, Tatiana Goldman with the Cirrus Training Department provided me with various manuals and access to their Vision Jet video training series on the Cirrus Approach website, the home of all of their courses. Tatia- na was there to help whenever I had a question, whether regarding my sched- ule or questions about the local area.
The video courses totaled over 16 hours, divided into easily consumable segments, most less than 30 minutes in