The latest single-engine aircraft technology was on show in Launceston on Sunday as an American-based company showed off its new wings.
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The brand-new Cirrus SR22, 2017 model touched down in Hobart on Friday and spent the weekend travelling around the state.
Pilot Stuart Simmons said it was about a two hour flight.
“We flew up from Hobart to Launnie in the morning. We came around the coast so we had a lovely scenic tour,” Mr Simmons said.
The company’s biggest emphasis is on safety, with the 2017 plane model having a built-in parachute and airbags in the seatbelts.
“Worldwide the parachute technology has been used about 45 times and everyone that has used it has walked away,” he said.
This year’s model also features new avionics, allowing the pilot to get information similar to an Airbus A380.
"It’s a lot of information just to keep you safe. There are a lot more features to keep you away from terrain and satellite technology to get weather updates while you’re in flight,” Mr Simmons said.
“You could literally train someone on this aircraft and then walk on to an airbus 380 because they have very similar systems.
“It’s a smaller aircraft and we’ve only got a single engine, but the information we can get is very similar.”
The $820,000, four-seater plane has a maximum takeoff weight of 1620 kilograms and enough capacity to fly for six hours at speeds of about 350 kilometres per hour.
The plan is built in America and exported world-wide.
“They’re built in Minnestoa. We bring them in to Australia in parts. It’s test flown in America, then pulled apart,” Mr Simmons said.
“They take the wings off and pack it into a container, then it’s reassembled in Melbourne and a test pilot comes over from America and test flies it.”
The aircraft was first displayed in February in Victoria, and has been on tour since April. Later this month the aircraft will tour Canberra.
“Everyone who has seen it has been very impressed with the aeroplane. A lot of people have an opinion that Cirrus is a very expensive brand, but when you explain what you’re getting for your money and why, then a lot of people say it’s reasonably priced,” Mr Simmons said.
You could literally train someone on this aircraft and then walk on to an airbus 380 because they have very similar systems.
- Cirrus pilot Stuart Simmons.