The Cirrus Approach
When you think of Cirrus and Safety it’s very easy to think, “Parachute.” While this is the most visible new technology Cirrus has built into SR20/SR22 airplanes it is just one aspect of our thinking about safety – and possibly not the most significant.
Cirrus thinks of safety in four ways: Aerodynamics can help to protect you from inattention or distraction while flying; situational awareness and stress reduction features reduce workload and help you give a flight the attention it deserves; if you do lose control CAPS, the parachute, may be able to help; and if you do end up in an accident, a crash worthy design can help protect you from injury.
Aerodynamics:
Passive features are built into the design to minimize the effects of distraction, inattention or weak skills. A very visible example is the “discontinuous leading edge” of the wing designed to minimize the effects of inadvertent stalls.
This is discussed more in the CAPS & Stall/Spin page.
Situational Awareness and Stress Reduction:
Making it easy to see where you are and what’s going on around you. A moving map overlaid with NEXRAD and traffic information makes a flight less stressful.
A good autopilot lets you think things through and makes you better equipped for a safe approach and landing after a long flight.
CAPS (Parachute):
If you lose control, or if the flight is compromised for any reason, there is a way to recover many situations. Unique to Cirrus, CAPS is discussed in the CAPS & Stall/Spinpage.
Crashworthiness:
No one plans to have an accident in an airplane.
But if you do, Cirrus airplanes have a number of features that may contribute to protecting you. People have survived significant accidents in Cirrus airplanes.
Modern composite structures can provide a high level of integrity, with recent regulations demanding very high cockpit standards:
- 26G (horizontal) seats keep you in your seat, in the airplane
- Modern occupant protection means cockpits are built to tolerate rollover and to keep everything in the airplane tied down (and not hitting you)
- Airbags (in the seat belts) to cushion an impact