#2017 cirrus sr22 interior mod
#2017 cirrus sr22 interior upgrade
#2017 cirrus sr22 interior full

Would the Continental turbo be more work?

I have to admit that since I’ve been flying the G3 Turbo, I’ve gotten quite used to not having to fiddle with the mixture. So I was curious to see how the workload would be with the new engine. Engine management in the Tornado Alley engine is that simple. Once you’re at altitude, you simply do what Cirrus owners refer to as “the big pull,” reducing the fuel flow to around 17.5 gph, which is the setting at which you cruise, and cruise plenty fast too, at better than 200 knots in the midteens and quite a bit faster in the 20s (where I very seldom fly). The Tornado Alley engine burns about 35 gallons per hour in the climb, though it climbs very strongly, so the total amount of time spent in climb is relatively low.

#2017 cirrus sr22 interior full

In most instances, you simply push the mixture and power levers full forward on takeoff and leave them there until you level off at your final altitude.

#2017 cirrus sr22 interior mod

The airplane, the SR22 G3 Turbo, was a big hit, and the Tornado Alley mod seemed a great fit for the ’22, providing excellent lean-of-peak fuel flows and remarkable ease of use for pilots. When Cirrus introduced the Turbo it made the unusual decision to go with the same naturally aspirated engine, the IO-550-N, that it had been using in the SR22 since the inception but to have it modified by aftermarket turbo specialist Tornado Alley under an STC. A change unrelated to the engine is a newly designed nose gear, which features for the first time on a Cirrus an oleo strut, a change that owners will surely welcome and which could be adopted on other Cirrus models over time. The new engine comes with new intercoolers, new NACA inlets, two big air filters and new louvers. That last bit - “future fuel flexibility” - is the most intriguing and controversial part. In a press release, Cirrus vice president Pat Waddick said, “In addition to a quieter operation, lower weight, a smoother ride and many other refinements, the new SR22T offers Cirrus customers a high performance, twin turbocharged option with the additional benefit of greater future fuel flexibility.” While continuing to sell both products, Cirrus is talking about the new engine as a big upgrade. Continental just doesn’t have a trade name for it. Moreover, it also features balanced fuel injection. It’s also covered by a Teledyne Continental factory warranty. The lower compression means the -K model has slightly less efficient specific fuel consumption, but it also means it has better detonation margins. The new engine is a lower compression engine, 7.5:1 versus 8.5:1 for the Tornado Alley product. Tornado Alley also added its patented GAMIjectors to even out fuel flow and balance cylinder temperatures. The previous engine, the IO-550-N, was converted by Tornado Alley Turbo from a naturally aspirated engine to a turbo. The new dash number is unique to Cirrus, at least for the time being. Cirrus will continue to offer the Tornado Alley engine, so customers will be able to select the engine option that best suits their needs or tastes. The new engine, the Teledyne Continental TSIO-550-K, provides several very noteworthy quality-of-life, longevity and performance advantages over the Tornado Alley turbo-normalized engine and does it for the same price.

#2017 cirrus sr22 interior upgrade

While largely invisible to the naked eye, the latest improvement, the upgrade to a Continental factory turbocharged engine, is also a big deal. Most of that improvement has been incremental, with a few big exceptions, including the upgrade to the G3 model a few years back and the concurrent offering of the Turbo model, as well as the introduction of the Entegra and Perspective flight decks. Based on my experience in the airplane, I feel confident in saying that a new SR22 is a substantially better airplane in nearly every respect than the original.

I was the first journalist to fly the original SR22, and I’ve flown every new one since, some of them for several hundred hours. And I mean “mature” in the good way, you know, like expensive wine, fine Swiss watches and very fast airplanes, like the Cirrus SR22. The hope is that, as a product develops, it will mature.