I’ll admit it. If Cirrus’ Cliff Allen wasn’t sitting shotgun and backstopping my every move on a trip in a new SR22T with Garmin’s Perspective+ G1000 avionics, I’d still be on the ground fumbling with entering the flight plan in the system’s FMS. “Mastering the Garmin Perspective avionics in later SR20/22 models won’t happen in a five-hour checkout,” Allen warns. He’s right. Consider that Cirrus corporate pilots—no matter the ratings or flight experience—are restricted to 500 feet above published minimums on approaches under IFR for the first 100 hours in type. If that doesn’t speak volumes for the level of automation and complexity in these airplanes I don’t know what does.
For Cirrus, it’s all about the training, and it has plenty of good materials. For starters, the Interactive Flight Operations Manual (iFOM) is an iBook summary of how Cirrus prescribes operating the aircraft. Additionally, an integral part of transitioning to a Cirrus with a G1000 Perspective series includes the Cirrus Approach study modules. Cirrus Approach covers nearly all aspects of operating the airplane and is a library of Vimeo-based video presentations led by Anthony Bottini, a Cirrus Standardized Instructor Pilot. Among the other aircraft systems covered, there are two in-depth avionics courses.