My neighbor recently purchased an SR20. Good buddy. We fly with each other often.

It has the throttle linkage interconnected to the prop control.

I've got him hooked on good engine management (LOP, full rich climbs, in flight mag checks, etc.).

2 questions...

I just need to try this, haven't had the chance.... can we run wide open throttle straight and level for normal LOP ops? Or will it run 2700 RPMs and make a whole bunch of extra noise?

In the event of an engine failure... can you make the prop go full coarse RPM? In my bonanza, in that event I would pull the blue knob the help with my glide.

Yes yes, it has the parachute. But what if you wanted to glide a little ways from over a lake to a wide open pasture before deploying the chute?

Thanks!

Congratulations to your buddy, and good for you on the engine management.

I'd suggest he join at cirruspilots.org, which is a very robust and busy site with a ton of information.

We've operated a 2003 SR22 since new, and yes at WOT you're pretty much stuck at 2700 RPM. It -is- noisier, but you get used to it and the engines do fine with it.

There is no independent control over the prop. You could pull the power lever back, but that would close the throttle and increase pumping losses. In any case, that's a minor consideration in the Cirrus as a low-level engine failure=chute unless there's a runway in front of you.

I would -strongly- suggest your buddy (and you) fly with a cirrus certified instructor. The airplanes are not at all difficult to fly, but they are different in some areas and the chute requires a different mindset to use effectively. This is a very big deal.

Years ago, the Cirrus had an pretty average fatal accident rate, similar to a lot of the legacy single engine fleet. Many of the fatalities could have been vented with proper decision making, especially wrt to the parachute. A training push greatly improved the safety of the airplane to th point that the fatality rate is now much lower than most GA airplanes.

Pretty much all Cirri have decent avionics and excellent engine monitoring, so good engine management is as easy as it can be. Tons of discussion and info on the site.

...just to emphasize what James said.....your friend should sign up with a CSIP instructor and go through the whole training thing. It's definitely worth it! (just like the BPPP / BPT training is worth it for Bonanza pilots)

Through the use of a cam and linkage the first little bit of "throttle" reduction from firewalled only resets the governor from 2700RPM to 2500RPM. The throttle plate stays wide open. Any reduction past that point starts to close the throttle plate.

Others have addressed other parts of your message. As to the above, no you cannot go to high or coarse pitch after engine failure, since there is no direct prop control. So with engine failure, the prop goes to flat pitch in an effort to maintain as close to 2500 to 2700 rpm as possible, depending on throttle position. That results in a lot of drag, which in turn signficantly reduces the glide performance of the aircraft. To match the glide range of a Bonanza, the Cirrus would have to start from a higher altitude. If that's a concern, there is a reasonably priced STC to add the missing prop control that a few Cirrus owners have opted for.

This video shows that the prop RPM control is pulled way back for low power throttle positions.

This link jumps to 2:23 in the video below:
http://youtu.be/9nzwhg6obM8?t=2m23s

[youtube]http://youtu.be/9nzwhg6obM8[/youtube]

This video shows that the prop RPM control is pulled way back for low power throttle positions.

Thanks everyone.

The owner has completed cirrus training when they purchased the plane.

We will continue to fiddle with power settings. Interesting to see how much manifold pressure will be lost inching the lever back to 2500 RPMs.

I would miss the blue knob if I owned one. But I like extra knobs and levers. Maybe I need a twin

Pull the throttle back till 2500RPM, you might loose 1/2" of MP or so, then push it up ever so gently till you feel the friction from the prop control cam and you'll have all the MP back.

Said another way, I found it easy to adjust the throttle going forward than back for whatever reason.

You may find that the 2500 plateau is more like 2480 or 2520 if it's not adjusted quite right. You will know you are there when pulling the throttle back does not affect rpm any longer. At that first point you will be WOT, which you can confirm by advancing throttle to the point just before the rpm starts to increase. You can pull off a lot of manifold pressure after reaching the 2500 plateau before further throttle reduction begins to reduce the rpm once again.

I can't say that I have ever considered managing rpm to be 'workload'.

If you really really miss it (and if it was yours of course) there is always the STC to install a prop control lever.

http://cirrus.tamarackaero.com

Jeff

Yea you shouldn't loose much manifold pressure from 2700-2500 and should only loose about an inch to 2400. After that is really starts to fall off.

Max,

Your friend has purchased an excellent, efficient, safe little cruiser. In answer to your operational question...pull the power lever back until you see the first reduction in MP. This should leave you at approx WOT and 2500 rpm. Lean as you would in any other application. Enjoy.

This is inconsistent with the video above, and the SR22 POH which calls for idle throttle position for best glide. It is a trade off because the closed throttle plate will create pumping drag, but the prop will be at the highest pitch available.