First Flight in Cirrus SF50 Full Motion Simulator

Aero Poznan in Poznan, Poland, is not only the world’s only Full Motion 6-axis Full Flight Simulator for the SR2x series – since spring 2016 it is also home of the first Full Motion 6-axis Simulator for the upcoming Cirrus SF50 Jet. In June 2016 Piotr Dlugiewicz, the CEO of Aero Poznan, gave me the opportunity for a first familiarization flight in the new sim.

This was really just a first introductory flight in the SF50 Simulator – without any preparation or briefing. So, I did get a first impression of the airplane and it’s systems. In short:

To start the engine you switch on the batteries (with two switches more or less identical to the ones in the SR2x), turn a knob to “Run” and press a key above that knob that says “Start”. That’s it, engine running.
The “Cirrus Perspective Touch” Avionics by Garmin are based on the logic Garmin uses in all his other stuff, especially in the GTN series touchscreen navigators. I was led through setting them up by Aero Poznan CEO and Head of Training Piotr Dlugiewicz, so i cannot really say much about it, but I think a couple of hours of practicing should do.
The visibility from the Cockpit is superb! You’re sitting there like in a cinema and you have a great 180 degree view through the windshield
The cockpit looks very well organized with a minimum of controls and knobs. Sure, there’s hundreds of features controlled by the touchscreens but the rest is really simple: a gear lever, a flap lever a fuel switch, the parking brake. And two very well positioned circuit breaker panels on the left and right sides of the cockpit. Plus a small overhead panel for lights, oxygen masks and some other controls.
The control forces of the side sticks (no side yokes like in the SR2x) are higher, but that was expected from a 3 ton aircraft.
Landings seem to be a piece of cake, really. With the setup we used, 2 guys in the cockpit, no passenger, full fuel, I flew the final approach with 100 knots, the feeling was similar to my SR22.
Rotation on Takeoff is 90 KIAS, best rate of climb for our weight was 115 KIAS if I remember correctly (have to check that one).

Here’s two short video clips that include a landing at JFK’s runway 22L and a takeoff from runway 04 at La Guardia. The videos are not edited, so please excuse my mistakes and some stupid chatter ;-)