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New “Radio Communication” Page Complete

I finished work on a new page today with the goal of helping students become familiar with ATC radios communications. The information covers the typical dialog at towered airport with (Class C) and without (Class D) approach control, as well as the use of the CTAF Common Traffic Advisory Frequency at non-towered airports, and a few other things useful to know.

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Cirrus transition training complete

After several flights, ground instruction and computer-based training on the Cirrus Approach website, I completed my transition training to the Entegra-equipped SR20. We wrapped it up this morning with a two-hour flight with Matt Gunderson, flight instructor extraordinaire and also a CSIP (Cirrus Standardized Instructor Pilot).

It has been fun to get to know an airplane which in some ways is similar to my Bonanza, and in others quite different. The spacious cockpit of the Cirrus is very comfortable, and the avionics – even in this older G2 model I’ve been flying is superb – with the Avidyne PFD, MFD and the phenomenal DFC-90 autopilot. The GNS430 GPS/NAV/COMs are a step back from the IFDs in my Bonanza, and while I am no stranger to the Garmin GNS units, my muscle memory has deteriorated in the 18 months since I upgraded to Avidyne IFDs in the Bonanza.

The side stick – sorry, the control yoke, as the Cirrus POH calls is – was a concern for me, but it shouldn’t have been. It feels very natural. The stereotype is that Cirrus pilots fly on autopilot 99% of the time, but from what I have seen the airplane is quite pleasant to hand-fly. Not as pleasant as my Bonanza, but a lot more pleasant than the Arrow I was flying during the spring and summer for my CFI training. And the modern digital autopilot is a thing of beauty – more stable and much smarter than my old Century III in the Bonanza. Performance isn’t on par with my A36, which has 50% more power than the SR20, but 135 KTAS at 8 GPH (LOP) isn’t too shabby, and pretty darn efficient. You can go faster, but then the range goes down.

My two rides today – N822GT (SR20, right) and N70TB (A36 Bonanza, left)

If you live in the Cedar Rapids, IA area and are interested in flying this Cirrus, Executive Aero Flight Club is always looking for new members.

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Martin on SuperAero Live

This coming Wednesday, November 4th 2020, I’ll be the guest on Ryan Dembroski’s weekly show “SuperAero LIVE”. The show begins at 8:30 PM US Central time (Chicago). You can not just watch live on YouTube, but participate through comments and questions in the live chat.

Link to the live stream
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The new studio

Exciting news – the new studio setup is up and running. (I was going to say complete instead of up and running, but then I realize that these projects are never complete and final.)

If all goes to plan, you will see it in use for the first time this upcoming Wednesday, November 4, 2020. I am going to be the guest on SuperAero’s live show that night, which starts at 8:30 PM US Central time (Chicago). Here is the channel’s LIVE playlist, and when the time comes (i.e. on Wednesday evening), you will see the link to the show posted there.

I will also use the studio for my own live events (Talk to Martin) in the future, and to record on-camera narration for my videos.