Introduction “If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it,” is a saying that doesn’t really apply to aviation. Thumb through the history books, and you find a litany of examples where a particular type of aircraft, already proven and popular, was taken back to the drawing boards by the engineers and tinkered with to become even better. It’s pretty much a given, considering the competitive nature of the industry. Take the 747, by and far one of the best examples of this mentality. At least five major variants (not including cargo) have come into existence. Byproducts of engineers tweaking the previous model to make it even better than before. GA are no different, and in recent times, one of the better examples of improving upon something good was Cirrus’ SR-22. Heavier, faster, and longer ranged than it’s SR-20 predecessor, it has proven to be an aviation force of nature. Breaking every expectation in the book in regards of single piston performance. In fact, the SR-22 proved to be such an improvement that the total number of airframes sold now eclipse it’s predecessor by a wide margin. Eaglesoft mirrored the evolution as well. Already having dealt with the SR-20, they too have pushed forth and went ahead with the SR-22-G2. With the benchmark firmly set with that previous release, I was interested to see what more they could do with it’s successor. Installation and Documentation The installer is downloaded directly from Eaglesoft’s website. Once again, we’re talking about the Flight One Wrapper, so I won’t waste any more of your time going further about it (suffice it to say it is excellent). If you find that the Avidyne screens appear to be missing data, go straight to the aircraft’s folder to hunt down a zipped ‘FONTS’ folder. Move these to your Windows OS’s folder and you’re good to go. Unlike the SR-20, documentation is provided in the install, accessed again in the aircraft’s folder. These PDF's are thorough in the basic familiarization of the airplane and its systems, although that’s pretty much it. Per the Readme file, the user is advise to check out the real POH and Avidyne manuals to better understand the aircraft and how to fly it to it’s maximum effect. The Model Eaglesoft maintains the bar with the external modeling of the SR-22. Providing five current, real world paint schemes right from the Cirrus factory floor with such lively names as Sedona, Skyburst, Sunburst, Mardi Gras, and the GTS (Chrome Silver option). Returning is ‘430 Lite’, a variant that was designed for use with Reality XP’s Flight Line 430XP, a merging that Eaglesoft states makes their Cirrus that much closer to the real thing. As with their SR-20, the 22’s skin looks stunning in every aspect when viewed from any angle and distance, with the right combination of strong and subtle for the various details like placards, panel lines, and other exterior details. The external model configurator makes a return appearance, letting you display all the outside eye candy such as tie downs, covers, pilot, sunglasses, etc with exquisite ease.
No less can be said about the interior of the 22, which remains richly appointed in typical Cirrus style. Look around and be impressed, for Eaglesoft once again went to great pains not to miss a single thing. From the black leather of the seats, to the CIRRUS name molded onto the rudder pedals, it succeeds in conveying to the end user that they are sitting in an aircraft that is at the very forefront of luxury accommodations in the single piston GA world.
Before We Go Further.... At initial glance, those familiar with Eaglesoft’s SR-20 (or it’s end users) may settle into a short round of double-taking. A quick glance at the screenshots of the 22 may have you thinking that it is a virtual twin of it’s smaller sister. This is partially true, as both designs do share a LOT of common traits (Avidyne Systems, CAPS, 4-seat configuration… even the fuselage dimensions are the same). However, the commonality ends there… period. As you’ll find out, what differences there are really do put the SR-22 into a class it’s own. Return Of The Extra Goodies Eaglesoft’s SR-22’s Avidyne Entegra System remains absolutely solid, still providing the end user with (at the risk of repeating myself) the best representation of that particular panel duo to date. Tweaks were made to the EXP5000 (PFD) to include certain true to life display options that weren’t seen in the 20, such as Horizon Heading Reference Marks, Flight Director, and the Engine Performance Data Block. While some of this information is readily available elsewhere on the glass panels (except the FD, of course), the inclusion of these items goes a long way in reducing the work of having to hunt around for what you need at the moment.
The MFD’s remain most useful in every way noted; LEAN ASSIST eliminated all the guesswork out of leaning the mixture, TCAS kept me alert to all the AI traffic in the area, the TRIP PAGE kept me up to date on my progress, and the CHECKLIST PAGE confirmed I hadn’t missed a single procedure. An additional tweak that further sets this ship apart from her sibling, is the addition of trim indication on the EX5000C (MFD) screen. Admittedly a departure from reality (as the trim is really read directly off the sidestick stalk), the provision of this info truly brought a smile to my face. Instead of having to rely on the pop up ‘tool tips’ or trimming by guesswork, one can now easily reference the actual setting. Closer to reality than as previously defined. And finally, there’s CAPS (Cirrus Airframe Parachute System). Handle-happy simmers rejoice, for the signature life saving device for those ‘oh-not-so-nice’ situations also made it back into this release. No changes were made to the animation or deployment restrictions, so users familiar with Eaglesoft’s SR-20 will be well prepared (for those who are not, it’s restrictions are well covered in that product’s review). Panels The panels for Eaglesoft’s SR-22 continue the tradition of providing a great alternative to experiencing the plane’s front office if you can’t drum up the funds for the real one ($349K at the time of writing). The 2D panel remains exceptional in every way, representing the real deal down to the minute details. Separate pop up panels are provided for the engine throttle quadrant, avionics, electrical controls, and each Avidyne screen. Unlike the 20, the Avidynes in the 22 are no longer fullscreen, and can be dragged about as desired (admittedly, they’re still large). In addition, the right side of the 2D panel (passenger’s side with the back up analog gauges), was dropped.
Once again, it was my opinion that the VC panel outdid the 2D. Being completely interactive, anything that I could do in the latter can be done in the former, and the immersion in its outstanding level of accuracy was simply jaw-dropping. As with the 20 (as well as the other Eaglesoft products in my collection), I haven’t spent a lot of time in 2D anymore – with the excellence of the VC world, there really isn’t any point. Flight Model To be completely honest, a good portion of the flight modeling of the SR-22 is very similar to the SR-20. Both aircraft are inherently stable, responsive to inputs, and generally easy to fly provided you keep the speed up. It kind of has one asking, what’s so incredibly different about this plane that can make it stand alone as a separate product. The answer is the power. The SR-22 possesses 310 HP under the hood, no less than better than 50% over the SR-20’s 200 horses. All that extra strength driving the prop translates to a plane that can do everything her predecessor can, but only better. By a wide margin, the 22 holds the aces in regards to speed, climb performance, useful load… let’s leave it at everything that matters. To prove the point to myself, I decided to explore the flight model in a manner that really would test out this plane’s mighty Continental IO-550-N. Instead of strolling down low to a destination at sea level, I decided to head out to a field who’s elevation would even make the SR-20 struggle along. It was time to head out for Mammoth-Yosemite, elevation 7,100 ft.
I started the flight from Hayward Executive. With the plane loaded up exactly as the 20 was in her test flights (two FAA standards- pilot and passenger at 170 lbs apiece - plus 75 lbs of baggage) and full tanks, I threw the throttle forward and hung on. The 22 accelerated fairly quickly, faster than the 20 did, rather ironic considering that the 22 gross weight is 400 lbs heavier. Than again, the IO-550-N is a beast of a powerplant, and within 1,500 ft, I was airborne. Where the 20 ‘leapt’ off the ground, the 22 shot skyward like there was no tomorrow. By the time I got the plane cleaned up, prop back, and on speed, the VSI was registering 1,800 fpm, and HOLDING speed! That is a figure that is hard to match in any GA circles, under any circumstances.
After playing around with the bird to test her handling under manual control (Eaglesoft stated that there had been an improvement to the flight dynamics, but I never detected it… not that I thought that their previous Cirrus had any shortcomings in that department anyways), I elected to let the autopilot manage the rest of my climb up to my target altitude of FL130 (required on this run to avoid the mountains surrounding Mammoth Lakes). All the while, I kept the plane heading upstairs at 110 kias, the VSI never dipping below 800 fpm. Once at cruise, I kept the throttle forward and waited for the speed to stabilize until I was finally showing a groundspeed of 171 kias with no wind. With 75 gals of 100LL in the tanks and a burn rate of 16 gph, I could’ve gone for a bit over four hours with VFR reserve (714 nm). That is the appeal of the SR-22. She’ll go higher, faster, and a little further than the 20 ever could.
Landing the 22 is almost the same as the 20. Both require a healthy reserve of speed coming down, the 22 needing a touch more than the other (5-10 kts to be exact, depending on the phase of the approach). Kept to a flat trajectory and minimum flare, landings in the 22 is a piece of cake (perhaps with a bit of practice if all you’ve been landing is the default Cessna 172SP). Funny enough, the 22 doesn’t require much more asphalt for landing than the 20 (a little over a hundred odd more according to the official specs) in spite of the faster pace.
Performance Conditions: Resolution - 1024X768, Scenery Options – MAX, Complex WX – ON, Traffic - OFF Once again, the complexity of this package – especially with those Avidynes constantly taking up processing power – does tax the system a little hard. The FPS tended to stay up in the mid to high 20s with clear weather and traffic off. With more complex weather and AI traffic up and running, the system had a harder time keeping up, averaging roughly 18-20. I’d like to conclude that this improvement can be attributed to better programming, but my system recently went through an upgrade, so it’s hard to come to that conclusion. The one thing I do feel comfortable commenting on, is that the ‘FPS Stutter’ encountered during my review of the SR-20 seems to have been corrected. The frame rates remained smooth and constant, making for much better flying. Summary I know this is beginning to sound like a broken record, but I have to give kudos to Eaglesoft for their SR-22-G2. Besides the fact that they continued on with the tradition of rendering the plane in precise fashion that does severe justice to the real world example that it was based upon, the improvements made it much more user-friendly and overall quite stable. It certainly didn’t hurt with so much more power connected to that throttle, which certainly made the 22 much more interesting (and definitely more fun) to fly.
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