You Fly LA teaches in the Cirrus SR20 and the turbocharged Cirrus SR22 at Van Nuys Airport: transition training for pilots moving into the type, the high-performance endorsement, instrument and cross-country work in a glass cockpit, and a complete private pilot course flown in the SR22 from the first lesson. The Cirrus is billed at the standard course aircraft rate plus $300 an hour, and the easiest way to find out whether it is the airplane for you is the sixty-minute Luxury Cirrus discovery flight, from $399. This page covers what Cirrus training involves, how the SR20 and SR22 differ, what CAPS and the Perspective+ avionics mean for how you fly, and what it costs. It is part of our fleet reference under the airplanes you fly.
Why Train In A Cirrus
The Cirrus SR series is the best-selling piston airplane in the world, and has been for most of two decades, for reasons that matter to a student as much as to an owner. It is fast, it is comfortable, it has a whole-airframe parachute, and it has a large, integrated glass cockpit that looks and behaves like the panel in a modern turboprop or jet. Pilots who plan to own a Cirrus, or to fly one for a club, a company or a family, are best served by learning in one, because the airplane's speed, its side-yoke, its systems and its avionics all reward familiarity. Pilots headed for a professional career gain something different: early experience in a technically advanced aircraft, which the commercial certificate requires time in under 14 CFR 61.129, and the habit of managing a fast airplane with an autopilot and a flight management system.
There are honest reasons not to start in a Cirrus, too. It costs more per hour. It is faster than a Piper Warrior, and a faster airplane gives a beginner less time to think in the pattern. Its landing technique is less forgiving of a flat, fast approach than a Cessna's. And a student who learns to fly on a glass panel with an autopilot can miss some of the raw stick-and-rudder feel that a simple trainer forces on you. None of that stops people from earning a private certificate in a Cirrus, which is common and which we teach, but it is why we tell most students who do not have a specific reason to fly a Cirrus to start in the Warrior and transition later. The Cirrus SR20 page goes deeper on that choice.
SR20 Vs SR22
The two airplanes look nearly identical on the ramp and are very different to fly. Both are four- or five-seat, low-wing, fixed-gear composite airplanes with a side-yoke, a castering nosewheel, and CAPS. The difference is under the cowl and in the numbers.
| Cirrus SR20 | Cirrus SR22 | Cirrus SR22T | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Engine (current production) | Lycoming IO-390, 215 hp | Continental IO-550-N, 310 hp | Continental TSIO-550-K, 315 hp, turbocharged |
| Typical cruise (approximate) | About 155 knots | About 180 knots | About 200+ knots at altitude |
| Maximum takeoff weight (approximate) | 3,150 lb | 3,600 lb | 3,600 lb |
| High-performance endorsement required | Yes for 215 hp models; no for earlier 200 hp models | Yes | Yes |
| Best suited to | Primary training, instrument training, local flying | Cross-country, speed, load | High-altitude and mountain cross-country |
Figures are approximate and vary by generation; the Cirrus SR22 reference page and the SR20 page have the details, and the POH for the specific serial number is the authority. The short version for a student: the SR20 is the trainer, with a lighter engine, gentler speeds and a lower rate. The SR22 is the traveling airplane, with 100 more horsepower, more useful load and a cruise speed that shrinks California. Under 14 CFR 61.31(f), any airplane with an engine of more than 200 horsepower requires a high-performance endorsement, so the SR22 always needs one and the current 215-horsepower SR20 does too; earlier 200-horsepower SR20s do not. The endorsement is part of the transition course described next.
Cirrus Transition Training
Transition training is for pilots who already hold a certificate and want to fly a Cirrus safely and competently. It is the most common Cirrus course we teach, and it follows the structure Cirrus itself uses for its transition syllabus: ground study on systems, avionics and CAPS decision-making, then flight lessons that work through normal procedures, the airplane's handling and performance, emergency procedures, and instrument procedures if you are instrument-rated.
What The Course Covers
- Systems. The fuel system, the electrical system with its dual alternators and batteries, the ice protection where fitted, the environmental system, and the flap and trim arrangement. Cirrus systems are simple to operate but different from a legacy trainer, and the differences are where mistakes happen.
- Avionics. The Garmin Perspective+ panel: primary and multifunction displays, the flight management system and keypad, the autopilot and its modes, the engine monitoring page, the traffic and terrain displays, and the electronic checklists. Learning to fly the airplane is the easy half; learning to manage the panel without getting absorbed in it is the discipline.
- Handling. The side-yoke, the spring-loaded trim feel, the castering nosewheel on the ground, steep turns and slow flight, the stall characteristics of the cuffed wing, and the correct approach speeds. Landing a Cirrus well is about speed control; land it fast and it floats and porpoises, land it on speed and it is easy.
- CAPS. When to pull, when not to, and the pre-flight briefing habit that makes the decision automatic. Covered in detail below.
- Emergencies. Engine failure, electrical failure, alternator failure, and partial-panel work on the glass cockpit.
- Endorsements. The high-performance endorsement under 14 CFR 61.31(f) is given as part of the course.
How Long It Takes
For a current private pilot with recent time in a fixed-gear single, plan on around eight to twelve hours of flying plus ground time over one to two weeks. Instrument-rated pilots add several hours of instrument procedures on the Perspective+ panel. Pilots coming from a long layoff, or from a very different type, take longer. The instructor decides when you are done, not the hour count; we sign off when your landings, your systems knowledge and your CAPS decision-making are where they should be. Insurance companies routinely ask for a Cirrus transition course before covering a new owner, and we provide the training record for that purpose.
Private Pilot In A Cirrus
You can earn a private pilot certificate flying nothing but a Cirrus, and we offer a package built for it: the Turbo Cirrus private pilot package, $23,400, with 38 hours in the SR22 Turbo, 2 hours in the FAA full-motion simulator, 30 hours of dual instruction and 3 hours of ground school. The syllabus is the standard 14 CFR 61.109 private pilot course. What changes is that you learn the glass cockpit, the autopilot and the high-performance handling from day one, and you finish with the high-performance endorsement already in your logbook. Students who choose this route are usually planning to own or regularly fly a Cirrus, and for them it is the most direct path: no transition course later, no re-learning a different panel. Students who are not sure should read the private pilot license page and consider starting in the Warrior.
A hybrid approach works well and is what we suggest to many students: fly the early lessons, the pattern work and the solo phase in the Warrior at the standard rate, where a slower airplane gives you more time and cheaper mistakes, then move into the Cirrus for the cross-country phase and finish the certificate there. Every hour counts identically, and the transition happens while you still have an instructor beside you every flight.
CAPS And Avionics
The Cirrus Airframe Parachute System
CAPS is a rocket-deployed parachute attached to the airframe, fitted to every Cirrus SR series airplane, that lowers the entire aircraft and its occupants to the ground under canopy. It is deployed by a handle in the cabin ceiling. It is designed for situations where the airplane cannot be safely landed by conventional means: an engine failure over terrain with no landing option, loss of control, pilot incapacitation, a mid-air collision, or spatial disorientation in cloud. It has been used many times and has an established record of saving lives when deployed within its envelope.
The training point is that CAPS is a decision, not a reflex, and the decision has to be made before the flight rather than during the emergency. Cirrus training teaches a specific habit: a CAPS briefing before every takeoff that sets the altitude below which you will land straight ahead and above which you will pull, and a pre-decided rule for the cruise phase. It also teaches the limits: minimum deployment altitude, the speed envelope, and why a low-altitude pull that a pilot hesitated over is the most common way the system fails to help. We spend real time on this in every Cirrus course because it is the one piece of the airplane that does not exist in anything else you have flown.
Garmin Perspective+
Current Cirrus airplanes, from the sixth generation of 2017 onward, carry the Garmin Perspective+ flight deck, an integrated glass cockpit based on the Garmin G1000 NXi with Cirrus-specific features: large primary and multifunction displays, a flight management keypad, a digital autopilot with an envelope-protection function and a blue level button that returns the airplane to straight-and-level flight, synthetic vision, engine monitoring, and integrated traffic, weather and terrain. Earlier airplanes carry the original Perspective panel from 2008 or the Avidyne Entegra system before that. Training on any of them follows the same principle: learn the panel on the ground, in the simulator and in the airplane, in that order, and learn to fly the airplane first and the screens second. A pilot who can hand-fly a Cirrus to standards and then use the automation to reduce workload is the goal. A pilot who cannot fly it without the autopilot is not.
Cost
Cirrus training is billed at the standard course aircraft rate plus $300 an hour, with the instructor at $110 an hour and ground instruction at $110 an hour, the same as every other course. A one-hour dual lesson in the Cirrus is therefore the airplane at the Cirrus rate plus $110 for the instructor, plus briefing time. The Turbo Cirrus private pilot package is $23,400, payable as $2,500 down and nine monthly payments of $2,322. A transition course of eight to twelve hours with ground time is priced hourly; ask for a written estimate at your consultation. Our flight school cost page sets out all the hourly rates and the financing page covers payment plans and scholarships. Once you hold a Cirrus checkout, the airplane is available for rental; see aircraft rental at Van Nuys.
Book A Cirrus Discovery Flight First
Whether you are a licensed pilot considering a transition or someone who has never flown and wants to start in the best-equipped airplane on the ramp, the right first step is the same: an hour in the SR22. The Luxury Cirrus discovery flight for two is from $399 for sixty minutes, with 90- and 120-minute versions, and puts you in the left seat with an instructor, air conditioning, leather seats, the Perspective+ panel and the parachute over Los Angeles, downtown, the coast and Malibu. The hour is logged and, for a pilot, it doubles as the first lesson of a transition. Weight limits in the Cirrus are 200 lb per person and 400 lb combined.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I Learn To Fly In A Cirrus?
Yes. The Turbo Cirrus private pilot package, $23,400, flies the whole course in the SR22. Many students start in the Warrior and move into the Cirrus for the cross-country phase, which costs less and works well.
Do I Need A High-Performance Endorsement For A Cirrus?
For the SR22 and SR22T, always: they exceed 200 horsepower. For the current 215-horsepower SR20, yes; for earlier 200-horsepower SR20s, no. The endorsement is included in our transition course.
How Long Is Cirrus Transition Training?
Typically eight to twelve flight hours plus ground study for a current private pilot, over one to two weeks. Instrument-rated pilots add several hours of instrument procedures.
What Does Cirrus Training Cost Per Hour?
The Cirrus is billed at the standard course aircraft rate plus $300 an hour, plus $110 an hour for the instructor.
Is The SR20 Or The SR22 Better For Training?
The SR20 is the gentler, cheaper trainer and is what Cirrus built for flight schools. The SR22 is the traveling airplane. If you will own or fly an SR22, train in one; otherwise the SR20 or the Warrior is the sensible start.
What Is CAPS?
The Cirrus Airframe Parachute System, a rocket-deployed parachute fitted to every Cirrus that lowers the whole airplane under canopy. Training focuses on deciding, before every flight, when you would use it.
Can I Rent A Cirrus After Training?
Yes, after a checkout. See the aircraft rental page for requirements.
Fly A Cirrus At Van Nuys
Start with the airplane. Book the Luxury Cirrus discovery flight, from $399, and spend sixty minutes at the controls of an SR22 over Los Angeles. If you want to plan a transition course or a private certificate in the Cirrus, book a free consultation and we will build the syllabus and the estimate around your experience. Call (818) 330-1318 any day from 9 AM to 9 PM.