SR22
Wow, I just saw this thread. So much info and some of it is almost correct!
Anyone who wants to stall an airplane and take it down be my guest but I'm not going along for the ride. When done within the POH limitations the chute has a great record. It is all about total kinetic energy and you have to include the forward velocity of the plane in the stall. As for why it is there, you have to have a one-on-one conversation with Alan Klapmeier and hear about his argument with his brother Dale to understand why it is standard. Oh, along the way you will hear about the mid-air he survived. I gather it made an impression on him. What I like about the chute is know it is there at night and when flying over low IFR.
I love the look of the Columbia. The Mooney is very efficient. The Cirrus is more comfortable inside with more room. Physics is physics and the Cirrus loses a little due to that and its fixed gear. That doesn't make any of them bad. I like the Mooney for efficiency. I think the Columbia is one of the prettiest planes out there. As far as the view out of the plane the Cirrus is better than either the Mooney or Columbia but not as good as the Diamond.
Handling is generally great. Roll is quick which is great for VFR flight but touchier in IFR. Trim is a pain and I would love a wheel like a 172. With a lot of practice you get it down but it is the LAST thing that gets easy and hand flying IFR is more of a pain than necessary due to it. I find the Columbia better as a stable IFR platform.
You need to know the systems. What else is new? I never found the Garmin 430W intuitive. My wife hates Perspective (G1000) but loves R9. Whichever system it is, any modern plane involves systems management.
Cirrus aircraft are FLOWN. Just look on Flightaware to get an idea of the planes in the system. Flightaware doesn't show VFR flights so it is more a measure of which planes are being used for long trips and poor weather flying. When you compare fatal accidents between types it is interesting to look at how many of each are in the system on a given day.
As for efficiency my trip this past weekend was at 14K' at 11.5 GPH with a TAS of about 160 kts. I am sure a Mooney can do a lot better but then again that's not bad for the wheels sticking down.
A common fallacy about accidents during the early years of the Cirrus was that they were from low time pilots. Actually many were high time. There was a time in type correlation (by definition since the plane was new) but not one to overall experience. The early accident rate was high but statistically meaningless. The current rate tends to match other high performance aircraft like Mooney, Bonanza etc. I think the 210 may be a little higher. All of this is hard to assess since no one knows exact flight hours for the different aircraft types.
The wing doesn't like ice. That is true of any high speed laminar flow wing. TKS on the non-FIKI planes is a get out of jail free card at best.
The side yoke is just a center yoke, remove one handle, center the other, move it all to the side. Everyone thinks it will take a long time but it doesn't. Control is precise if a bit numb due to the spring centering removing some of the feel generated by air pressure against the control surfaces.
Autopilot concerns are no different than any other plane with a rate based autopilot if flying a Cirrus with the Stec 55X. If flying one with the GFC700 then you have an awesome autopilot and the ability to do indicated airspeed climbs which removes autopilot stall concerns. The upcoming Avidyne DFC100 will add envelope protection i.e. it will drop the nose of the plane to prevent a stall or shallow descent to prevent exceeding Vne.
The key to slowing a Cirrus down is getting flaps in even if you have to climb to do it. The turbos are easier due to the big fat composite prop which acts like a speed brake. That said, I flew a Columbia with speed brakes and I loved them.
My favorite Cirrus feature? It got my wife interested in flying. It is the plane she wanted. Now she flies as much or more than I do. She insisted we get our own plane. When offered a new car/truck or an R9 avionics upgrade she picked R9. For that I am eternally grateful to Cirrus.
Paul