Plane & Pilot 2021 Buyer‘s Guide: Single-Engine Piston Planes

Newcomers, upgrades, and old favorites: 20 piston singles for 2017.

Gemini Sparkle

Key Takeaways:

  • The 2017 Buyer's Guide highlights a diverse selection of leading piston singles, ranging from updated existing models to newly certified aircraft, offering options from basic trainers to high-performance, pressurized six-seaters.
  • Advanced avionics are a prominent feature across many models, with the market-dominating Cirrus SR22 G6 launching Garmin's updated G1000 NXi (Perspective+) suite, and other premium aircraft also boasting state-of-the-art Garmin G1000 or G3000 systems.
  • The featured aircraft cater to various pilot needs, including pressurized high-altitude cruisers (Piper M350), fast retractable-gear personal aircraft (Beechcraft G36 Bonanza, Mooney Acclaim Ultra/Ovation Ultra), and capable fixed-gear alternatives (Cessna TTx, Cirrus SR22/SR20).
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Cirrus SR20
Cirrus SR20

Cirrus SR20

The original certificated Cirrus, the lower-powered SR20, gets the same G6 treatment as the SR22. New in 2017 is a Lycoming four-cylinder, 210 hp IO-390 engine. The SR20 is in most ways the same airplane as its more powerful sibling. But it’s a significantly less speedy airplane than the SR22, just 155 knots compared with better than 180 for the normally aspirated ’22. The ’20 is the de facto beginner’s Cirrus, but still an airplane that will go a long way, with a range of around 650 nm, and do so pretty quickly at 150 to 155 knots, and with the same comfort as the SR22—it features the same cabin with almost all the same options available, including the 60-40 flex seating that provides an extra seatbelt in back.  With the new engine, the SR20 will have a 100-pound higher max takeoff weight and a boost in useful load, too.

Niche: Fixed-gear personal

Base Price: $389,900

Competitors: Diamond DA40, Tecnam P2010, Piper Archer

Cirrus SR20 Specifications

Learn more at Cirrus Aircraft.

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