If you own a Cirrus and keep it in Los Angeles, four things will come round on a schedule for as long as you own it: the insurance checkout when you buy, the annual recurrent dual your policy requires, the flight review every 24 calendar months under 14 CFR 61.56, and instrument currency if you fly on instruments. We do all four at Van Nuys, at $110 per hour for instruction, with instructors who fly a Cirrus every week.
This page is for owners rather than students. If you are transitioning onto type for the first time, start with Cirrus transition training; if you are still deciding between airframes, read SR20 vs SR22. Our own Cirrus is a turbocharged SR22, N422SN, with Perspective glass and CAPS, and it is available when you would rather not put hours on your own airplane. Training is Part 61.
The Insurance Checkout
When you buy a Cirrus, your broker will come back with a quote conditioned on training. The condition is usually expressed as a number of hours of dual in make and model, sometimes with a landing count, sometimes with a requirement that the instruction come from a named program, and almost always with an annual recurrent requirement attached.
Our approach is unglamorous and it works: bring us the binder before you book anything. We read the condition, tell you plainly whether we can satisfy it as written, and build the course to match. If the condition names a factory program specifically, we will tell you that and you should use the factory program rather than paying us for hours your underwriter will not accept.
What a checkout covers in practice is the airframe's systems from its own Pilot's Operating Handbook, the Perspective panel and its autopilot modes, energy management and landings in a slippery airplane, automation discipline, emergencies, and the CAPS decision framework. That last item is the one we spend the most time on, for reasons set out in full on our page about how CAPS works and how pilots are trained to decide.
Recurrent Training That Is Worth The Money
Most Cirrus policies require an annual recurrent session, and most owners treat it as a signature. That is a waste of a good airplane and a good instructor. A recurrent session done properly is the cheapest safety intervention available to an owner, because the skills that decay fastest are exactly the ones that matter in an emergency.
What we put in a recurrent session:
- Automation failures you have not seen. An autopilot that does something you did not command, a mode reversion, a flight director you are following without realizing.
- Hand-flying on instruments. The first skill to go and the one you will need when the automation quits.
- Engine failure at altitudes you have not practiced. Including the ones where CAPS is the answer and the ones where it is not.
- A landing sequence with a real crosswind, rather than the still-air pattern most owners fly.
- A review of your personal minimums against what you actually flew last year, which is usually an uncomfortable conversation and a useful one.
We use the Redbird MCX full-motion simulator for the scenarios that cannot be flown safely. It is $200 per hour retail and $120 inside a package, it can be frozen mid-approach so you can talk, and an hour in it buys more than an hour in the airplane for procedures and emergencies.
Flight Reviews And Instrument Currency In Your Own Airplane
14 CFR 61.56(a) defines a flight review as a minimum of one hour of flight training and one hour of ground training, and 61.56(c) requires it since the beginning of the 24th calendar month before the month in which you act as pilot in command. The regulation sets a floor. In a Cirrus, an hour is rarely enough to do anything useful, and we would rather sell you a session that improves your flying than one that fills a box.
For instrument pilots, 14 CFR 61.57(c) requires, within the preceding six calendar months, six instrument approaches, holding procedures and tasks, and intercepting and tracking courses through the use of navigational electronic systems. That paragraph may be accomplished in a full flight simulator, flight training device or aviation training device provided the device represents the category of aircraft and the tasks are flown in simulated instrument conditions, which is what makes the Redbird so useful for owners. If you have gone out of currency, the instrument proficiency check under 61.57(d) is the route back — our page on the instrument proficiency check explains what it involves.
Night currency under 61.57(b) is the one owners forget: three takeoffs and three landings to a full stop within the preceding 90 days, between one hour after sunset and one hour before sunrise, before you carry passengers at night. It takes forty minutes and a phone call.
Training In Your Aircraft Or Ours
Instruction is $110 per hour and ground instruction is $110 per hour. If you fly our SR22 Turbo, the airplane is $649 per hour wet at the retail pay-as-you-go rate and $449 per hour inside a course package. If you fly your own airplane, you are paying for the instructor and your own operating costs.
Training in an owner's aircraft needs arranging in advance rather than on the day, because we need to check the insurance position, confirm the aircraft's documentation and make sure the instructor is briefed on the specific airframe and its equipment. Call (818) 330-1318 before you plan a date and we will tell you what we need from you.
| Item | Rate |
|---|---|
| Flight instruction, aircraft or simulator | $110 per hour |
| Ground instruction | $110 per hour |
| Cirrus SR22 Turbo N422SN, retail wet | $649 per hour |
| Cirrus SR22 Turbo N422SN, inside a package | $449 per hour |
| Redbird MCX full-motion simulator, retail | $200 per hour |
| Redbird MCX full-motion simulator, inside a package | $120 per hour |
| High-performance endorsement in the SR22T | $1,799 |
Ferry And Repositioning Flights
Owners need aircraft moved: to a maintenance facility, back from a pre-buy, across the country after a purchase, or home after a trip that ended badly with weather. Our instructors hold commercial privileges, which is what the regulations require of a pilot being paid to fly your aircraft, and several of them fly the Cirrus routinely.
Ferry work is quoted individually because it depends on the route, the weather window, the aircraft's equipment and whether you want to come along and log the time — which, if you are a new owner, is usually the better idea. A long cross-country with an instructor beside you is worth more than the same hours flown locally. Call and describe the trip.
What We Do Not Do
We are a flight school, not a maintenance organization. We do not carry out pre-buy inspections, annuals, 100-hour inspections or CAPS component replacement, and we will not offer an opinion on the airworthiness of an airplane we have not been shown records for. What we can do is fly an airframe you are considering and tell you how it flies, and tell you which questions to put to a shop.
We are also not a Cirrus Training Center and do not claim CSIP status. Cirrus runs its own training ecosystem, Cirrus Approach, with Cirrus Standardized Instructor Pilots at designated Training Centers, and it publishes an Embark program for buyers of pre-owned aircraft. We are an independent Part 61 school with our own syllabus, our own SR22 Turbo and published rates, and we would rather you knew the difference than found out later.
A Service Most Owners Overlook
Brief the person who sits beside you. A partner or regular passenger who knows where the CAPS handle is, what it does, how to press the microphone button and roughly how to keep the airplane upright is a genuine layer of safety, and it takes one ground session and one flight. Owners who do this describe it as the most reassuring hour they have bought. Instruction is $110 per hour, same as everything else.
Related Reading
- Cirrus transition training — the full syllabus for a pilot new to type.
- CAPS explained — the system, the envelope and the decision framework.
- Flight reviews at Van Nuys — what 61.56 requires and what a useful review contains.
- Instrument proficiency check — the route back to currency under 61.57(d).
- Aircraft leaseback at Van Nuys — if you want the airplane to earn while you are not flying it.
- Cirrus SR22 specs and POH guide — the airframe in detail.
Cirrus Owner Services FAQ
What Does A Cirrus Insurance Checkout Involve?
Whatever your binder specifies, built around systems, the Perspective panel, energy management and landings, automation discipline, emergencies and CAPS decision-making. Bring the binder first so the course satisfies it rather than approximating it.
How Often Do Cirrus Owners Need Recurrent Training?
Most policies require an annual recurrent session with an instructor. The FAA separately requires a flight review every 24 calendar months under 14 CFR 61.56 and instrument currency every six calendar months under 61.57(c) if you fly on instruments.
Can I Train In My Own Cirrus?
Instruction is $110 per hour whether you fly ours or yours. Training in an owner's aircraft needs arranging in advance so we can check insurance and aircraft documentation and brief the instructor on the airframe. Call (818) 330-1318 before booking a date.
Do You Ferry Aircraft?
Our instructors hold commercial privileges and several fly the Cirrus regularly, and ferry and repositioning work is quoted individually depending on route, weather window and whether you are coming along to log the time. Describe the trip on the phone and we will price it.
Do You Do Pre-Buy Inspections?
No. We are a flight school and not a maintenance organization. We can fly an aircraft you are considering and tell you how it flies, and tell you what to ask a shop, but the inspection itself belongs with a mechanic.
Are You A Cirrus Training Center?
No, and we do not claim CSIP status. Cirrus runs its own program through Cirrus Approach and designated Training Centers. We are an independent Part 61 school at Van Nuys with our own SR22 Turbo, our own syllabus and published rates.
Can My Partner Learn What To Do In An Emergency?
Yes, and it is one of the most worthwhile hours an owner can buy. One ground session and one flight covering the CAPS handle, the radio, basic aircraft control and how to get help. Instruction is $110 per hour.
Book An Owner Session
Tell us what you fly, what your insurer has asked for and when you are next due, and we will put a session in the diary. Call (818) 330-1318, 9:00 AM to 9:00 PM, seven days, or book a free consultation if you would rather talk it through first. We are at 7900 Balboa Blvd, Van Nuys, CA 91406, on Van Nuys Airport. If someone in your family wants to find out what flying your airplane feels like, a discovery flight is $229 for 60 minutes.