Martin flies a Bonanza – everybody knows that, right? Well…
First things first: I am not selling the Bonanza. It’s not going anywhere. It will remain my personal airplane.
I am in transition training for a Cirrus SR20 because I joined a new flying club here in Cedar Rapids, Executive Aero Flight Club. Their Cirrus is contently parked in the hangar immediately next to mine. Following my transition training, I will be one of the instructors in this club.
So what do I think about the Cirrus so far? It has a comfortable and roomy cabin, for sure. The side stick took less getting-used-to than I anticipated. The PFD, MFD and autopilot are fantastic – this is a G2 Cirrus with the Avidyne Entegra system, and an Avidyne DFC-90 autopilot – worlds better than my mechanical six-pack and ancient Century III. On the other hand, the audio panel (PS Engineering) and GPS/NAV/COMs (Avidyne) in my Bonanza are far better than what this Cirrus has today. The DFC-90 is world-class. Hand flying the Cirrus is easy, but not as much fun as hand-flying my Bonanza.
So if in the future you hear a familiar voice on the radio from N822GT, it may be me.