Don't forget this was a Cirrus aircraft, not your usual C150 or Tomahawk. Its speed in the circuit is likely to be 130 knots, so a much larger circuit will be flown. Also it has been said that they are a very 'slippery' airplane and take a lot of space to slow down. So a three mile final is quite a possibility, ( compared with a half mile final of a c150.)
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