Flight International — 22 August — 4 September 2017

ightglobal.com 22 August-4 September 2017 | Flight International | 27

SF50 FLIGHT TEST

20°C hotter than standard, with the Vision Jet
leveling at 27,000ft about 23min after lift-off.
I kept the TL in the MCT detent after
level off, with indicated thrust now at
34%, and the Vision Jet accelerated to and
stabilised at 182KIAS. Test day conditions
(ISA +15°C) showed a Mach of 0.46 and a
fuel flow of 59gal/h, giving a true airspeed
of 287kt. Observed performance agreed
well with Cirrus data: its listed 300kt top
speed well within reason. To sample a

long-range cruise condition, I next set fuel

flow to 45gal/h. Indicated thrust was now

just 27%, with the Vision Jet slowing to

149KIAS. An indicated M0.38 gave a true

airspeed of 235kt.

With the autopilot still engaged I returned

the TL to the MCT detent to hurry us along,

as I unstrapped and went to sit in the second

row of seats. Up to this point I had been

wearing a noise cancelling headset, and with

it off I was able to get a feel for the ambient

noise level. I was able to carry on a conversa-

tion with Dillion at normal voice levels. Sub-

jectively I found it louder than other light

jets I have flown, but undoubtedly quieter

than turboprop cabins. The Vision Jet’s

6.5psi pressurisation system kept a comfort-

able cabin altitude of 7,540ft.

After I returned to the flight deck, Bergwall

pointed out an approaching line of thunder-

storms with tops around 35,000ft. We would

not be able to overfly them, so steered through

the clouds. This challenge presented an op-

portunity for the Vision Jet’s Garmin 3000-

based Perspective Touch avionics package to

shine. XM satellite weather gave us the big

picture of the convective activity, while the

onboard weather radar allowed us to refine

our path close-in. I especially liked the Per-

spective Touch’s large display area, enough to

have a full screen PFD, as well as a map, ap-

proach chart and EIS windows. Additionally,

a vertical situation display can be shown,

which graphically depicts upcoming crossing

restrictions. Crossing the Continental Divide,

we cleared the thunderstorms and started our

descent for landing.

APPROACHING STORM

Our initial plan was for a coupled instrument

landing system approach to Centennial’s run-

way 35R. Numerous prior flights in Garmin-

equipped aircraft had allowed me to load and

activate the approach procedure with little

assistance from Bergwall.

I found that the own-ship position pre-

sented on the geo-referenced approach plate

greatly enhanced situational awareness. As

we manoeuvred downwind, a large thun-

derstorm approached the field. To ensure we

landed before the storm hit, we abandoned

the instrument procedure for a visual ap-

proach with a shorter final. As our altitude

on the downwind approach was too high, I

immediately dropped the gear and lowered

the flaps to 50%, which slowed the aircraft

through 190KIAS. I found the sidestick- ❯❯

SF50 Vision Jet versus rivals

Cirrus SF50 Piper M600 Eclipse 550

Range* 920nm 1,150nm 825nm

Maximum altitude 28,000ft 30,000ft 41,000ft

Maximum cruise speed 300KTAS 274KTAS 375KTAS

Useful load 1,061kg (Elite) 1,089kg 1,089kg

Maximum take-off weight 2,722kg 2,722kg 2,722kg

Take-off distance 973m 803m 742m

Landing distance 918m 810m 850m

Thrust-to-weight ratio 0.31 10lb/hp 0.3

Wing loading (kg/m²) 149.6 140.2 203.4

Cost (typical) $2.3 million $2.85 million $2.795 million

Source: Manufacturers, Wikipedia *NBAA IFR, 4 occupants

Very light jet’s trailing link main landing

gear gives pilots a softer touchdown