Luckily we have forums like this where people who look beyond the Cirrus marketing machine are looking and spitting their opinion. Something that isn't really allowed by the Cirrus owners so it seems.
What is it that makes some Cirrus-haters so arrogant and condescending in this assumption that the mythical "cirrus marketing" mesmerises clueless morons into buying the aircraft. It's just outrageous and I think the Cirrus guys on the thread are very restrained in their responses. (I don't fly any of the aircraft discussed in this thread)
Firstly, I've never seen anything from "Cirrus marketing" that looks particularly different or that could be any more misleading or mesmerising than all the other light airplane maketing out there. Secondly, I've never come across a Cirrus owner who was a moron who found $600k in the street. They tend to be professional people and entreprenuers who've worked hard to be able to buy the airplane
they want.
All aircraft have a specific set of attributes and every owner has a different weighting of priorities amongst attributes. I think it's just immature not to recognise that any individual's preferences are as legitimate as anyone elses.
The preference the market has for the Cirrus it totally unsurprising. It's just a very attractive product. You line up a Cirrus next to a Mooney and it's a no-brainer which the majority of pilots will pick. The extra speed and range in the Mooney just don't make up for the cramped cabin, dated looks (and, perhaps, the fragile and endlessly insolvent maker). If I really wanted the max speed and range from a single for 1000nm legs, I'd buy a used Malibu with pressurisation and a cabin-class interior. I'd just rather not go than use oxygen in a cramped single for 5hrs. Which leaves the Mooney as the obvioulsy niche product it is. One can respect it as such, but it's pretty nutty to rant on about why the 20x or 50x? more people who buy Cirruses aren't in your little niche. The Beech has some sort of 'traditional' look to it which is nice, but that's about the end of it. Why do I spend the best part of $1m and then have to go after-market for turbos and deice? And the narrow cabin is horrible. Forget the numbers and technical attributes - what's the point of buying an uncomfortable aircraft?
Cirrus make some unconventional decisions which may be annoying (eg. I'd prefer a prop control for the reasons discussed, and a normal stall certification without the BRS) but the decisions they've made, on balance, appeal to more pilots than any other fast single.
brgds
421C