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It’s Not Your Father’s Airplane

Gemini Sparkle

Key Takeaways:

  • The author describes flying a Cirrus SR22 equipped with the advanced Garmin Perspective panel and an Enhanced Vision System (EVS), highlighting its integrated displays, synthetic vision, Highway in the Sky guidance, and automated aids like the emergency "LVL" button.
  • The Cirrus offers a highly simplified and "coddling" flying experience, making complex tasks like engine leaning, flight planning, and instrument approaches remarkably intuitive, even for pilots used to traditional avionics.
  • Despite the extensive automation designed to enhance safety and ease, the article emphasizes that pilots must still maintain core flying skills for potential system failures and retain ultimate responsibility for risk assessment, as automation cannot replace pilot judgment.
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“Got along without you ‘fore I met you, gonna get along without you now.” So there, Garmin Perspective in the Cirrus SR22! Just as the lyrics suggest, my feelings are mixed. I’d love to be able to get along with the Perspective-equipped Cirrus, but frankly, that option is above my pay grade.

I’ve struggled along with the panel I have … well, that’s not accurate … I’ve enjoyed the avionics I’ve acquired to enhance my Cardinal’s panel since I bought it with a partner more than 20 years ago. Originally, equipped with a pair of ARC navcoms and an ADF, it had an adequate and capable panel for IFR operations. Over the years we worked down a “wish” list. I’ve forgotten the chronology but a Northstar loran was an early addition and a backup vacuum system seemed important. When Judith wondered why we didn’t have an instrument to tell us where thunderstorms lurked, I explained there was one, but that it was expensive. “Buy one,” she insisted and that’s how a Stormscope 900 found its way to the panel.

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