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RV-10 vs Cirrus
I finished my RV-7A this year and love it. 60+ plus hours with Dynon panel. My Cherokee sits in the hangar until I have to go pick up my kids/grand kids or take friends for a ride. But mostly I fly my RV for burgers, camping, and fun. And the Dynon avionics, AP, etc are so capable I'm spoiled.
Wife wants to keep a 4-seater for family and friends flight, but she wants me to sell the Cherokee and get a Cirrus. She wants 2-doors, cabin comfort, and the parachute. Cirrus's are totally cool but expensive, including ongoing maintenance. Tonight I realized the RV-10 now has a BRS Chute that can be added. And building the 7A left me with tools and skills. Seems a shame not to use them again. So, what might you say about a Cirrus versus building an RV-10A? Speed, Load, Comfort, Spouse appeal, Costs, Maintenance? For anyone who has built a RV-10 with nice paint, great avionics and nicely appointed leather interior, what was your total hard cost? $200K? |
I finished my RV-10 in 2012. Total cost including paint and interior was $165K. This included new engine and prop from Van?s, dual screen SkyView, GTN-650 etc. I did a slow build and painted it myself (high end PPG base and clear coat paint cost me $3.7K). I?d estimate today it would be closer to $200K.
I would never own a Cirrus over any RV. A neighbor has one - the first annual set him back $6K and that was just for planned maintenance. Add to that the gross price tag and high fuel burn the Cirrus is only for people with very fat wallets. Shoot fire, if you are going to spend that much money get something with a turbine. I?ll stay with RVs. Carl |
I?m very early into my build, and I don?t have lot to offer - except that the BRS parachute is definitely an option for the RV-10. I?ve contacted BRS aerospace, they make one just for the -10, and I will be building one into my plane.
They will even sell you the install kit separately from the rocket and chute itself, so if you take a few years to build it all in, the 10 year clock on a new rocket motor and chute repack starts when you install the rocket, not when you install the wall panel that holds it. So, if all she wants a Cirrus for is the ?chute, that?s not a reason to drop an extra $600,000. |
I?m getting close to the end of my build. If you want a -10 equipped similarly to a cirrus and you want the BRS chute, you will not be able to do it for $200k. I dont have the chute. I put in a beautiful Garmin panel and a brand new Thunderbolt engine. I?m already north of 200, without paint. Could I have saved a few bucks here and there, sure. I could have probably wound up around 200 without paint if I was pinching pennies... but I think you?ll be closer to 250. Still WAY cheaper than a Cirrus.
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I wonder if Van had any idea when he rolled out the -10 that his devoted cadre of builders would be comparing it with the Cirrus as much as with the 7-A's and 14-s. Given the order of magnitude price difference, that's a pretty high bar for comparison. Makes you realize what ol' Van pulled off. Mad respect.:)
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Everyone makes decisions that impact cost. Do you need a carbon fiber panel? What about the overhead console? Do you need interior panels? No, but they do make the appearance better and provide added functions. No you need a new engine or Avionics? No, but new is probably preferred by most folks. You can save $10k by painting it yourself. I?m not being critical of anyone?s decision. We all have different budget and mission requirements. There are options and decisions that are available if your budget is tight. |
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My buddy on his last annual need to upgrade some avionics and need some other parts to the plane. His annual was 8K (mostly from the avionics). I told him I could do annuals on my 10 for 20 years and not spend that kind of money |
When I was done with my Phase 1 testing with my -10, I was moving to my new hanger 100 miles away, and using the RV as my hauler! Back seats were out and I had that area and the baggage compartment stuffed with two tool chest's full of tools along with everything else I could fit in, including the front passenger seat. It took three trips to make the move by plane and all the benches and other stuff that wouldn't fit in the plane went via truck. My first trip with the plane my wife dropped me off at the airport and waited with the grandkids to watch the take off. I was behind a Cirrus (with only one sole on board) and I had full fuel and loaded to the max. The Cirrus took off and when clear, I did also. When I returned home my wife's first comment was how fast the RV was in comparison to the Cirrus on TO, commenting my run was less than half the length of the Cirrus! There is the RV Grin!
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You have probably already considered this but depending on the mission only one of those two planes is going in and out of shortish turf fields.
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It's been a couple of days since it was published, so maybe you've already seen it - but AOPA did a bit of a fun fly-off drag race between their sweepstakes RV-10 and an SR-22 and posted a video. More details of the comparison will be in the AOPA Pilot magazine per Dave Hirschman from AOPA. Many people are asking the same sorts of questions posted earlier in this thread, of course. Click the image to watch the YouTube video.
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