News of the day - Cirrus updates and the mysterious case of the missing pilot

Aero-news posted a few interesting items today:

The mysterious case of Marcus Schrenker. It appears that Mr. Schrenker decided that bailing out of his turboprop aircraft and letting it fly away on autopilot was a great way to avoid his white-collar lawsuit. How do they know this? Well, there are a few pointers:

1) the way the radar track looked
2) the fact that a military aircraft eased up to his airplane in-flight (after trouble was reported) and found the cabin door open and the cockpit lights all dark
3) the fact that Childersburg, AL police think they gave Mr. Schrenker a ride to a hotel during the time frame - after he appeared in the town with a strange explanation of how he got there

The flying penguin has his own unique perspective on this incident as well.

Update Jan 14, 2009: Now the guy's busted!
-----

Next up are updates from Cirrus - they have revealed a new option for their 2009 line-up. FIKI (flight into known icing) will soon be approved on properly equipped SR22 aircraft. They include updates to the G1000 (so it can manage the icing system and provide appropriate alerts) as well as updated TKS (anti-ice liquid) dispensers to cover the windshield and improve coverage around the airframe. The changes are not retrofit-able on older Cirrus. Without FIKI certification for an airplane a pilot is not legally allowed to fly into an area where icing is forecast.

I hope no one will think this new hardware allows them to cruise along in icing conditions - it will not work out well. Though you may be able to survive if you are really lucky with that chute.

-----

Lastly there is a little more from Cirrus - new model packages [Cirrus page]. Cirrus has always understood what car dealers know in their soul - buyers like package deals. Or, at least, they tend to buy them.

I believe I read somewhere that most folks buying a new Cirrus opt for the GTS (nearly all options) package. That might mean they like buying a package - or maybe Cirrus buyers are rich folk that just want every option. Now with lower-end packages available Cirrus' sales people will be able to answer that question.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Updating data on the Garmin Perspective system

Image
After changing from the Avidyne system to the Cirrus Perspective (G1000) system, I had to relearn an important part of owning an airplane: how to update all the data the systems use. There's even more data in the Perspective, including AOPA directory data and more charts. In this walkthrough, I make use of the Jeppesen app for Apple OS X: JDM .  It has worked well for me, though I did need to call Jeppesen when I first set this up to get my subscriptions fixed up.  They gave great customer support when I did. The process starts (optionally) by hooking up a ground power unit (GPU).  In the case of the Cirrus, you can certainly do this without it, but I tend to hook it up just to be sure.  The systems draw about 8-10amps while updating, but you won't generally have the power on for long.  One tip I've read: power up the GPU before plugging it into the plane, at least for the one I bought.  That saves the plane from seeing any power spikes that might have occurred when t
Read more

Hiking to Rocky Peak in Steamboat Springs

Image
Did a great hike today that is not in the commonly used hiking apps.  The trail is generally easy to see, though there were times that we lost it.  There are plenty of bushes and undergrowth draping over the trail, so bring long pants. Leg gaiters might be nice too, just to protect your legs a bit. Many parts of the trail are actually drainage ditches.   Here's a KML file from our trip down - we followed the trail much better after learning what to avoid on the way up. We went right after a thunderstorm had come through the previous night, so got pretty soaked due to the plants being wet.   Found the path to the top and saw 2 moose along the way - gorgeous views for the entire trek.  2 miles to get to the top from the parking near the hot springs with about 1800' of elevation gain.  Certainly not a beginner's hiking trail, but not a problem for those with some experience (and lungs that are used to the altitude).
Read more

G1000 transistion training - emergencies - final flight

Image
For the final flight in my G1000 transition course we focused on failure scenarios. Not the "engine goes POOF" kind but the avionics kind. Normal situation This picture shows what the 2 Garmin screens show in a normal (non failure) situation. You can see we have 2 screens - the left PFD focusing on flight performance (airspeed, heading, attitude, altitude) and the right screen (MFD) focusing on engine data, mapping, checklists, and everything else. Failed PFD screen In this scenario the screen that is right in front of you (the PFD) has failed. This basically means the screen has gone dark. We simulate that by dimming the screen down to 0% brightness. After darkening the PFD we shot a GPS approach into Rock Hill. When this failure has occured you shift the G1000 into Reversionary mode. That means the info that is normally split across 2 screens is now merged into 1. It actually duplicates the same data on both screens, but since the PFD screen is no longer functioning
Read more