G6
By 2017, the basic Garmin G1000 architecture in Cirrus Perspective was more than a decade old and at the limits of its growth. Generation 6 introduced Cirrus Perspective+ by Garmin,…
By 2017, the basic Garmin G1000 architecture in Cirrus Perspective was more than a decade old and at the limits of its growth. Generation 6 introduced Cirrus Perspective+ by Garmin, which used the new Garmin NXi technology. The new hardware was able to process data 10X faster than the previous G1000 units and allow for more functions, detail and capability. For example, VFR Sectionals and IFR Enroute Charts could be displayed on the MFD, and panning and zooming were effortless. The keyboard changed from alphanumeric to a true QWERTY layout. The dual Aircraft Heading Reference Systems (AHRS) and Air Data Computers (ADC) were integrated into a dual ADAHRS. The XM Weather was animated, and a graphical weight and balance calculator was on the MFD at startup. Surface Watch gave aural and visual runway warnings. Flight Stream 510 allowed use of the Garmin database concierge for updates.
Pilot and passengers alike admired the new Spectra LED wingtip lighting and wigwag features in flight.
G6 SR20
The SR20 also enjoyed an important change in 2017, as Cirrus swapped the six-cylinder 200-hp Continental IO-360ES for the four-cylinder 215-hp Lycoming IO-390. This gave the SR20 a max weight increase of 100 pounds, to 3,150 pounds. Combined with the lighter weight of the Lycoming engine and composite propellor, the useful load increased by 150 pounds.
The G6 was further improved in 2018 with multipane MFD functionality, the "Green Donut" Vref speed cue on the PFD for approach speed management and Auto Level if the pilot strays outside the ESP envelope for longer than 20 seconds.
2019 introduced the 600-foot "CAPS Available" callout on takeoff, GPS above ground level altitude readouts and a glide range ring. The Cirrus Perspective+ by Garmin also allowed numerous other benefits in the avionics interface and information.
The highlight of the 2020 model year was the Cirrus IQ, which allows the pilot to use an app to check the fuel, battery and TKS levels of the aircraft right from their phone. An optional 4-blade SR22T propeller from Hartzell also became available.
Current G6 Prices:
SR20 $450K to $595K with average of $570K
SR22 $685K to $950K with average of $790K
SR22T $810K to $1.15MM with average of $880K
While the Cirrus SR market was hot prior to the COVID era, the pandemic gave thousands of business owners and professionals more control of their time and added incentive to fly their own planes. Many took advantage by learning to fly. Many of them then got into aircraft ownership with a preowned Cirrus G1 to G3. This allowed the sellers of those aircraft to move into a G5, G6 or order a new Cirrus. Because of the dozens of major improvements and hundreds of un-
seen design improvements, many Cirrus owners seem to upgrade a generation or a model every two to three years, and this resale value remains strong for years to come. It will take years to return to a normal availability of 4% to 5% on the market from the current 1%, so if you are looking at preowned, now is as good a time as any to enter the market.
Safe flying!
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