23 April 2007
As we <a href=’newsfeed.php?artnum=526′ target=’_blank’>reported last week</a>, Cirrus has put its new G3 airframe on show for the first time at the Aero 2007 Exhibition at Friedrichshafen.
The new type is the latest version of the SR22, and boasts ‘almost 700 changes and improvements’, but currently costs the same as the G2 (which it replaces).
The G3 is to have a new wing and a carbon fibre spar, which should reduce the weight by about 50 lb. The TKS tank has been enlarged and moved to the wing, and fuel capacity has been increased by about 8 US gallons. That TKS tank, by the way, holds 50 percent more de-icing fluid.
We are told that the fairing between the fuselage and wing has been improved, leading to less drag – although the POH figures remain the same as the G2, rumour is that the new aircraft is slightly faster. High intensity LED lights have been fitted to both wings.
A redesigned undercarriage now means that the aircraft sits a couple of inches higher – apparently to give better margins on rough fields.
