Hi,

I've got experience on club pipers but am looking to fly a Cirrus SR-20 or 22 in the near future. could anyone who has done this in the past please share some of their experiences?

are there any ground trainer aids that can help me train towards using the aircraft systems before going to the actual aeroplane?

Regards! :ok:

There is a full set of manuals, training CDs/DVDs etc that you can purchase. I just looked at the Cirrus website, but couldn't find it on there. You could try emailing Cirrus directly, or whoever is offering the training might be able to help you find it. I think it cost a couple of hundred bucks, give or take.

It is recommended (by the CAA) that you do differences training for the glass cockpit. Forget everything you know about Pipers, the Cirrus is a completely different tool.
I did the conversion with a Cirrus instructor, highly recommended 10 hours, and even after that I was not too confident until I built up about 50 hours on type.
You need to know the functions of the PFD and MFD thoroughly as you can get in a right muddle if you set things up wrong!! Though I did originally get my PPL in 1962 so I'm a bit old in the tooth with new technology!!
Have a look at www.taauk.net

I have just done and nearly completed my cirrus 20 conversion training with TAA at Denham who were excellent.

Getting to grips with the avionics is essential before flying the cirrus, there are a numer of DVD's etc available which are well worth studying. It really helps to know the 430 well as it seems me that a good understanding of this helps get more out of the plane, on the garmin website you can download some excellent training software.

The 20 is a dream to fly and I've fallen in love with it, lands nicely (you need to watch the numbers closely) and I can't wait to fly it more.

LateFinals

I managed to download very accurate simulators for all the Cirrus systems. Combined with a the correct hand books, its possible to educate yourself to an exceptionaly high standard. Here are some of the main links, it all depends upon how the aircraft you want to fly is kitted out.
1) Avidyne Trainer (www.avidyne.com/products/demo.asp)
2) Excellent Cirrus Aircraft for MS Flight Simulator (Later cockpit with PFD & MFD) (http://www.eaglesoftdg.com/CirrusSR20G2.htm)
3) Freeware aircraft for MS Flight Simulator (Earlier cockpit version with MFD only) with good autopilot & remote altitude selector : Search the internet for "cirrus2six.zip".
4) Excellent GNS430 integration for MS Flight Simulator (http://www.reality-xp.com/products/GNS/index.htm)
5) Garmin's own stand alone GNS430 / 530 simulator (http://www8.garmin.com/include/SimulatorPopup.html)
6) Garmin GNS 430 Manual (https://buy.garmin.com/shop/store/manual.jsp?product=010-00139-11&cID=194&pID=82)
7) Garmin Mode S Transponder manual (http://www.garmin.com/manuals/GTX330Transponder_PilotsGuide.pdf)
8)Garmin Audio Panel Manual (http://www.garmin.com/manuals/GMA347AudioPanel_PilotsGuide.pdf)
9)S-Tec 55x Autopilot Manual (http://www.s-tec.com/pdf/SYS55X_POH_Cirrus_2nd_ed.pdf)
10)Cirrus Pilot Operating Handbooks (http://www.cirruslink.com/mycirrus/onlinepoh.aspx)
11)Sandel EHSI handbook if you are flying an older Cirrus (http://www.sandel.com/SN3308_EHSI_sup.php)
12) Sandel EHSI for MS Flight Simulator (http://www.reality-xp.com/products/SN3308/index.htm)
13) S-tec autopilot altitude selector manual for earlier aircraft (http://www.s-tec.com/pdf/ST360_poh.pdf)
14) Avidyne PFD & MFD trainers (http://www.avidyne.com/products/envision/envision_aerosim.shtm)
15) Avidyne Manuals (http://www.avidyne.com/support/cirrus_tech_pubs.shtm)
Good luck

I can highly recommend the Sporty's Pilot Shop download website at:

www.sportys.com/downloads/

The 'What You Should Know' series includes a module on the Avidyne Flightmax Entegra.

The 'Air Facts' series is also worth a look (it's by Richard Collins who is one of my favorite aviation journalists - a regular in the US 'Flying' magazine). The Flightmax is covered under the GPS Approaches module, and possibly elsewhere but I haven't downloaded them all yet ! The 'Personal Minimums' module is also well worth reflecting on as the Cirrus will enable you to push the envelop with its terrific touring capability.

The above Sporty's videos will run on a PC, Mac or you can download onto an iPod Touch or iPhone.

There is also a free FAA training series on the Garmin 430/530 to be found at:

www.faa.gov/about/office%5Forg/headquarters%5Foffices/avs/offices/afs/divisions/eastern%5Fregion/avsafety%5Fprogram/Garmin/

The voice-over can get a bit long winded at times but there is some excellent information to be had . . . . for free !

Also download the free 430 simulator from Garmin as this is a great aid as well.

Drambuster

Excellent posts above to help you, I can confirm TAA are the people to do the 10 hours with. The more you can do on the ground the better.

I know in the USA they have very realistic simulators and as per normal the costs for training and renting are much more reasonable if you wanted to make a holiday of it at the same time, I am current in the UK but will be doing some additional training whilst in New York in April at
www.performanceflightny.com (http://www.performanceflightny.com/)
Cirrus SR20GTS - $250/hr Cirrus SR22GTS - $285/hr Cirrus SR22GTS Turbo - $325/hr

You will find it a bit over whelming at first with all the systems but once you get your head around this and use to the speed they fly pretty much like any other aircraft.

You are probably better off to stick to the SR20 as it will be cheaper and initially an easier transition.

Good luck

Be prepared to not want to fly anything else afterwards, (for going places at least) and the resultant serious increase in the cost of your flying!
I find that I need to be flying a lot more often than I am in order to get full use out of the systems; there's an awful lot to remember.
My other regular(ish) mounts are a PA28 and a Chippy, both of which I find dead easy, but the cirrus, whilst being easy to fly, always leaves me scratching my head a little!