363 Buying and Learning to Fly a Cirrus SF50 Vision Jet and SOE with Dr. Mark Alford
Aviation News Talk podcast
Deep Dive
Why did Dr. Alford choose the Cirrus SF50 Vision Jet?
Dr. Alford chose a 2018 SF50, serial number 73, with 700 hours, after monitoring it for several months. The included Jetstream service package, covering annual inspection, training, and major component issues, influenced his decision due to its predictable maintenance costs.
How did Dr. Alford prepare for his Vision Jet type rating?
Dr. Alford prepared extensively by watching 20 hours of videos, reading the Pilot Information Manual, Airplane Flight Manual, Type Rating Prep Guide, and the G3000 book. He also flew the Vision Jet for four hours before the course.
What did Dr. Alford's Vision Jet type rating course entail?
The nine-day course in Knoxville involved three days of ground school, followed by simulator sessions and ground trainers. He dedicated around nine hours daily at the facility and two additional hours to studying each night. The checkride, a four-hour comprehensive assessment including a walk-around, concluded the training.
Why did Dr. Alford require Supervised Operating Experience (SOE) after his type rating?
Due to insufficient flight hours in the Vision Jet, Dr. Alford needed 25 hours of SOE with a mentor to remove the restriction on his type rating. He chose Max Trescott due to his familiarity with the SF50 and positive feedback from previous conversations.
What were Dr. Alford's goals for his SOE training?
Dr. Alford aimed to gain experience flying in Southern California, encounter and manage various weather conditions, master the G3000 avionics, practice hand-flying, and operate in complex airspace.
Why did Dr. Alford and Max choose Santa Fe for their first SOE flight?
Dr. Alford's prior experience flying to Santa Fe in a Cessna 182 and a Cirrus SR22 provided him with familiarity with the airport, its challenging mountainous terrain, and approach procedures, making it a suitable starting point for his SOE training.
What memorable experiences did Dr. Alford have during his SOE training in Madison, Wisconsin?
In Madison, a young aviation enthusiast, Isaac Gorel, expressed his admiration for the Vision Jet, leading to Dr. Alford and Max giving him a tour of the aircraft. They also encountered a unique parking situation next to an ErCoupe, showcasing two airplanes with distinctive tail designs.
Why did Dr. Alford and Max choose not to refuel at Eagle, Colorado, after landing?
Due to the challenging departure procedure requiring maximum performance, they opted to minimize weight by departing with lower fuel and refueling at the closer Grand Junction airport.
What unique challenge did Dr. Alford face during the departure from Eagle, Colorado?
The Beaver 1 departure requires a minimum climb gradient of 740 feet per nautical mile to 10,200 feet. This necessitates a maximum performance climb at 91 knots, flown manually due to autopilot limitations. They addressed the lack of a feet-per-nautical-mile indicator by calculating the required feet-per-minute climb rate.
What were Dr. Alford's initial concerns about flying into Hawthorne Airport, and how were they addressed?
He was concerned about the short runway, proximity to LAX, complex airspace, and potential weather issues like fog. However, the parallel flight paths to LAX mitigated the proximity concern, and the simple runway and taxiway layout made ground navigation easy.
What is a TEC route, and how did Dr. Alford and Max use one to fly from Hawthorne to Santa Barbara?
A TEC route is a predefined route for transitioning between airports in Southern California, often used to simplify complex airspace. They used the SCTP 28 TEC route, uploading it to the G3000 via ForeFlight after encountering limitations with direct entry. ATC initially provided a heading and radar vectors to join the route, but ultimately cleared them for the TEC route as planned.
What unusual event occurred during the taxi at Dona Ana Airport?
They encountered taxiway closures due to repaving, requiring back-taxiing on the runway and navigating a single, dust-covered path to the FBO. The limited taxiway access also necessitated yielding to an arriving Pilatus to avoid a nose-to-nose confrontation.
Shownotes Transcript