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Old 22nd Nov 2012, 14:06
  #112 (permalink)  
taxistaxing
 
Join Date: Mar 2012
Location: Central London
Age: 41
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My 2p worth.

OP, if you're just flying privately after getting your PPL then there's no reason not to upgrade to the Cirrus, or whatever else takes your fancy straight away.

On the other hand if you're hour builidng towards starting the CPL, as many others have said, it makes sense to do the hour builidng in the the same type of aircraft (and ideally the same geographical area) as you will do your CPL in. Most CPL schools do not use Cirruses (Ciri?) . That's the approach I've been taking and endorsed by the school I'm planning to do my CPL with.

The PA28 you did your PPL on may well be "easy to fly" but flying to CPL standards is a different kettle of fish and you will be held up to a much higher standard in pilotage, DR navigation using a stopwatch and compass. Why not use your hour building to hone these techniques? Then you'll have an easier transition into the complex type you will do your CPL skills test on (likely to be an Arrow). You might struggle to "downgrade" to an Arrow once you've got used to a Cirrus with an avionics suite that would shame an A380!

I've tried to practise flying without any electronic assistance where possible. I found that going up in a C172 with a g430 fitted was making me lazy and over reliant on the 'magenta line'. I can imagine this would only be worse in an aircraft like the Cirrus. Going flying without a GPS no doubt seems shocking to some people but I've found it concentrates the mind, and is more reflective of the skill set you are supposed to be hour building towards.

Last edited by taxistaxing; 22nd Nov 2012 at 14:16.
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