Avionics News January 2023 - 37

When he first took delivery on his new aircraft, he
parked it in a shared hangar at Gary Jet Center at Gary/
Chicago International Airport, which was heated. He
moved the plane to an unheated hangar where rent
was cut in half at Porter County Regional Airport in
Valparaiso, Indiana, closer to his home. Now, if he
wants to preheat the engine, he can use Wi-Fi to turn
the heater on using an aftermarket product installed on
his aircraft. He gives it about four hours to warm up
while watching the oil temperature on Cirrus IQ on his
iPhone as he gets ready to head to the airport.
Cirrus Aircraft plans to develop a Flight Management
System (not a mobile app) for a new customer, United
Aviate Academy. The academy is located at Phoenix
Goodyear Airport in Arizona. The school trains
students for a year in a Cirrus single-piston aircraft and
offers them the opportunity of a direct path to a United
flight deck. About 5,000 pilots will be trained there in
the next decade in Cirrus TRAC20 training aircraft. In
June 2022, the academy took delivery of the first of 25
SR Series Cirrus TRAC20 aircraft, which are tailored
to the mission.
United Aviate Academy will be able to monitor its
entire fleet of 25 Cirrus TRAC20s with the Cirrus fleet
management system. United Aviate and Cirrus Aircraft
are considering using less than 100 of the more than 400
data points transmitted after each flight to United Aviate
as possible inputs into the Cirrus Aircraft application.
Airlines use flight operational quality assurance, also
known as flight data monitoring or analysis, to enhance
flight safety and increase maintenance efficiency. Cirrus
Aircraft is tearing a page from the airline book to help
one of its largest customers.
" Anything you can think of is probably in those
400-plus parameters, " said Seneca Giese, director
of Cirrus IQ products and services. He worked for
Tesla before joining Cirrus Aircraft and notes owners
of Teslas are always connected to their softwareprogrammable
cars. " Being connected to your
aircraft really changes how you think about owning
an aircraft, " he said. Giese recently completed his
instrument rating.
All Cirrus aircraft feature a complete aircraft
parachute system called Cirrus Airframe Parachute
System along with other state-of-the-art safety and
navigation systems. The TRAC Series is no exception
as it is packed with these Cirrus Aircraft safety
features. It has dual side yokes, Cirrus IQ, 10-inch
Garmin screens, a 406 MHz emergency locator
transmitter, ADS-B In for weather and traffic and
ADS-B Out, autopilot stall protection, and more.
David Moser, vice president of fleet and special
mission sales for Cirrus Aircraft, said the TRAC Series
is popular in ab initio training because of its flight
management system, hazard avoidance features and
large displays that prepare students to fly transport
category jets.
United Aviate Academy plans to train 500 ab initio
students per year, at least half of them female or people
of color.
United Aviate Academy graduates will be able to
transition to United Airlines as first officer once they
meet hiring requirements. They will also be mentored
by United pilots and enjoy United flying privileges
while at the school. The airline aims to overcome the
pilot shortage in the United States and hire 10,000
pilots in the next decade. It has a lot of pilot seats
to fill, and it operates the largest fleet of wide-body
aircraft in North America.
There are 8,000 total Cirrus aircraft in service, and
some earlier models may be targeted in the future with
a Cirrus IQ retrofit kit. Cirrus Aircraft is currently
monitoring the data from 800 Cirrus IQ connected
aircraft to improve pilot safety.
Cirrus Aircraft logged a 13-year high in new aircraft
deliveries in 2021 with 442 SR Series aircraft and 86
Vision Jets.
At the AERO Friedrichshafen press conference in
April 2022, Cirrus Aircraft announced it is expanding
with a new regional operations office in Rotterdam, The
Netherlands. Additionally, Cirrus Aircraft announced
a sales office in France, which will complement the
company's network of 13 Cirrus Training Centers, five
Cirrus sales agents, and 24 Authorized Service Centers
in the European region.
General aviation flying slumped in Germany and
Europe when the COVID-19 pandemic hit, but flying
training increased rapidly as people working from home
found time to complete their ground training at their
desks and then take flying lessons. Cirrus Approach is
a comprehensive training program that the company
provides for pilots to learn how to fly. The program
offers in-depth digital instruction. In 2021, it grew to
more than 8,000 users, a 47% increase over 2020.
In addition to welcoming more people into personal
aviation, Cirrus Aircraft released complimentary
refresher courses, including " Takeoffs and Landings "
and " Maneuvers to aid pilot proficiency and safety. "
The company is dedicated to continuous training and is
frequently rolling out innovative ways to create safer
pilots and flying experiences. q
To learn more about Cirrus Aircraft, visit
cirrusaircraft.com.
avionics news * january 2023 37
http://cirrusaircraft.com
Avionics News January 2023

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