By Rod Douglas 

When a revolution washes through an industry it rarely emerges from its leading lights. Almost every real change comes from the very edge, a genuine innovation. The aviation industry was absolutely desperate for a change after the dark years of the liability crisis in the eighties.

The major general aviation manufactures limped out the other side of the gap with no real desire to develop beyond the hope that they might survive. The big names had discovered how to sell jets and turbo props and make good money out of them and the stalwart GA platforms were simply seen as the ugly ducklings of industry.

Meanwhile, in the ever innovative world of the kit aircraft there emerged a couple of brothers who were developing a high powered, pusher configured composite airframe. The Klapmeier brothers had launched the Cirrus VK30. That design could hardly be called a great success but it certainly attracted a following with lots of attention generated. I’m not sure how many airframes were completed but the innovative ideas launched into the kit market became the seeds that launched the giant killer that has become Cirrus.

Cirrus is simply the biggest manufacturer in the general aviation market by volume. It’s achieved that outcome with a single airframe with two engine options. That is, simply put, remarkable. So the question is why has an upstart manufacturer, backed by venture capital, has been able to slay the industry giants?

And the answer? New, simple ideas that push the envelope and answer the needs of today’s pilot. It seems that in aviation, the sunk costs in developing a model are so high that it seems simply impossible for the incumbents to make the leap to a clean sheet with a rational approach to today consumers. The macho and traditionalist pilots that have always populated the flying community put tradition first. Potential wealthy new recruits to the industry don’t. The installed pilots are fundamentally conservative people who have been deeply trained to put safety first and to rely upon themselves.

On the other hand, the potential market for general aviation is filled with people who have no history of the repetitive safety training that makes the pilot community adventurous yet conservative. It’s filled with risk takers who are able to make the significant amounts of money needed to buy and run an aircraft. Those people who are succeeding in today’s world are technologically savvy people who expect their aircraft to integrate every advancement that will deliver a benefit. They drive luxury, functional cars and when they spend five times as much on an aircraft they expect to get all the technology and safety, as well as the utility that an aircraft brings to a successful individual.

I still remember my first flight in a Cirrus. It was March 19th, 2000. I’d discovered that there was one in Australia, imported by the owner of Sunland Aviation, Steve Maltby. I’d been hanging out to see what all the fuss was about, and with my then three year old son Jai, I’d arrived at Archerfield ready to fly. The aircraft in question was an SR20. I was hooked from the first flight. It was modern. It was innovative. It had a huge MFD in the centre that gave you a complete situational awareness. Its 200 hp delivered 160 knots with the wheels down. It had a parachute and tough composite airframe. You stepped into it from big accessible doors on both sides. There was tonnes of room. I knew then and there that this would be the future.

Today I flew the updated future for the first time. The SR22 G3. These days Cirrus calls that first group of aircraft the ‘Classic’. Back then it was just called a Cirrus. Since then we’ve been through the first major upgrade, the G2. It brought a significant upgrading of the technology  available at the time. The first to introduce a full glass experience through the twin Avidyne primary flight display and multi function display combination. At the top of the range, for the first time, it was possible to have a fully integrated solution that delivered traffic, terrain and weather. The new class of customer wanted to know why they couldn’t have air-conditioning. It appeared. The most demanding of IFR pilots, who for the first time had a safety option other than two engines, wanted de-ice. The TKS option emerged.

The G3 goes much further. With nearly 700 individual changes it is a complete relook at the aircraft and a next generation re-engineering of the product based on the feedback of the operators, pilots and the market.

While there have been a myriad of changes within the cockpit and the fuselage, the basic experience of it is still absolutely Cirrus. Any Cirrus pilot, of any model, can step into it and experience the sense of being reunited with a comfortable old friend. As I said, lots of little changes, all of which just make it that little bit better. The recessed and backlit master switch panel is a classic example. It’s always been functional but this update takes it to the next level of evolution. Slightly safer when it comes to avoiding the accidental switching mistake and much easier to identify at night, it’s the little things that make the difference inside the cockpit in this update.

Step outside the cockpit and there is a lot to discover that is significantly different. Firstly, the aircraft looks different. Juliet Lima Yankee is silver, with the telltale Cirrus swooshes blasting up the side. The previous generation Cirrus’ have always been white. While they were always a good looking aircraft, there is something delightfully tomorrow about the new color schemes. In my view, she also looks considerably meaner. Sitting 50 mm higher and with a brand new wing, with an increase in dihedral from the previous 4° to the current 5.5°, the sweep is more pronounced. Under the skin is a new and lighter carbon fibre spa that runs significantly closer to the wing tip.

Out in front, (and it should be said that it’s an option), hangs the big meaty section of the titanium edged Hartzell ASC II Composite 3 bladed prop. It simply looks mean with its highly curved scimitar form. This appears to be a machine that goes fast and it does. The changes to the aerodynamics, which include fully integrated wheel spats and gear leg fairings, when combined with the new wing, have allowed the airframe to squeeze another knot or two out of the big IO-550, 310 horsepower Continental which has so reliably propelled the SR22 since its launch.

Another worthy change, which will benefit those who, like me, use a Cirrus for the long distance legs which are often common in a country this big, is the additional  42 litres of fuel  that the new wing and tank arrangement allows. It effectively adds 45 minutes to the range of the aircraft. In practical terms that should allow me to fly both to and from Melbourne without a fuel stop. The northerly track was always a shoe-in, but heading south you had to hold your mouth right and have everything in your favour to make it without a stop. It has been suggested to me that the SR22 Turbo has the range, in a lean of peak best economy burn, to fly Brisbane-Adelaide nonstop. This is a meaningful and practical range extension.

From a pilot’s perspective one of the really nice changes has been the retirement of the aileron/rudder interconnect. While the aircraft always handled superbly well, the interconnect meant that rather than having the crisp and defined performance handling that one expects from a BMW, the Cirrus felt more like the competent and safe handling of a Mercedes. The mean looks and new snappy crisp handling have definitely lifted the G3’s performance appeal.

Naturally Cirrus hasn’t forgotten about safety. With the intelligent, last resort approach of the Cirrus CAPS (Cirrus Airframe Parachute System), this aircraft has pioneered a systemic approach to safety. It’s extended in the G3 through the Cirrus Fit for Flight safety screens.

When the avionics master is activated, the big Avidyne panels come to life. Once activated, the MFD requires the pilot to work through three Fit for Flight screens that systematise the decision matrix of ensuring a successful flight. The first screen assesses the preparedness, experience and minimums appropriate for the pilot to apply for the flight. The next screen assesses the aircraft’s preparation for the flight. The final screen focuses on ensuring that the passengers are fully briefed and prepared for any emergency.

This simple approach to enforced safety was simply never possible before the emergence of the glass cockpit as a reference centre for all systems management within the aircraft.

The G3 is simply a better aircraft. It absolutely builds on the pedigree of the previous models and integrates a complete rethink of the aerodynamics, as well as driving a broad and detailed innovation strategy across the complete aircraft. The outcome is an airframe that is about 15kgs lighter for the comparative equipment levels over the G2. That amounts to a meaningful increase in range.

Which naturally leads to the next question. What’s next for Cirrus? When it comes to the SR22, which is by far the biggest model represented in the fleet, it would seem logical, after a technology update with the G2, and an aerodynamics update within the G3, for the next generation to be focused around the power plant. Rumour has it that Cirrus is testing all options from new generation diesels to high octane unleaded engines. With the influence of Global Warming growing, and a clear requirement for manufactures to reduce the carbon foot print of their machines, this is a clear edge to be explored.

The other significant challenge that Cirrus has before it is the transformation from what has been a ‘highly focused single product with a couple of variations’ company, to an organisation that is building out its product line to capture the value chain in both directions. The launch in 2009 of the SLS, a two seat, glass cockpit CAPS equipped trainer will give Cirrus the opportunity to build out the Cirrus name in the training market. While a number of ab-initio student owners of Cirrus’ in Australia have completed all of their training in their own aircraft, there has been no penetration into the use of the aircraft by flight schools.

The Rotax powered SRS, which at around $130,000 is priced to be very competitive and feature rich against the Cessna’s 162 trainer offer, should help Cirrus to emulate the pilot’s natural tendency to grow within the brand they originally trained in. This strategy is directly competitive with Cessna’s historical dominance of the training market.

Cessna, who have been decidedly slow to respond to the emerging challenge of Cirrus, has finally made a strategic move to counter. The purchase of Columbia, (at a rock bottom, in administration price), with the immediate benefit of allowing them to rapidly integrate the Cessna 350 and 400 models into their line-up, means they finally have a product that takes away the Cirrus lead. These aircraft, which have arguably better handling, performance and finish, still lack the safety redundancy of the CAPS system.

It doesn’t matter which way you cut it, in IFR at night it doesn’t matter how much better the aircraft flies, if the engine stops the redundancy of a whole of airframe parachute is a safety trump card.

Then there is ‘The Jet’. Presented as an almost  mythical next step for the Cirrus pilot, ‘The Jet’ is apparently going to deliver the same constant simplicity in a single engine jet as the SR22 brought to high-performance piston flying. With integrated avionics and a CAPS system, ‘The Jet’ is hoping to muscle into a very busy VLJ sector. It is taking on the Eclipse juggernaut, which is the clear innovator in that sector and presents a very different challenge for the business with a new strategy as a challenger, rather than market maker.

While ‘The Jet’ is building off a deeply loyal (and clearly technology savvy) market base, and its single engine, CAPS redundancy offer differentiates it and gives it a price advantage, there is plenty of competition. The leader in the light jet sector is clearly Cessna with its fully extended Citation range with many first time jet pilots and owners beginning their jet journey in a Citation.

This now puts Cirrus and Cessna on path to a direct, knock down, David and Goliath type battle. While there is clearly room for both companies to survive, the highly competitive nature of Cirrus versus the return on capital requirement of the establishment Cessna, means direct and vigorous competition is very likely. All of which can only be good for the general aviation market. Vigorous competition always stirs marketing spend, which usually stimulates market growth. That and a strong and growing world market with technology driving changes means that we can expect to see a buoyant market when the aircraft buyer benefits.

It’s clear that for Cirrus there are, as the Chinese would say, interesting times ahead. While the SR22 G3 clearly provides a next level evolution, and is a superbly refined aircraft, the more interesting challenge will be to see how the business savvy of the Klapmeier brothers will stand up to the resources and might of their new competitor, the incumbent Cessna.