Solo turbo time

Today I made my first solo flight in the turbo version of the Cirrus SR22. Had planned to shoot a few approaches but found that the GPS data cards were out getting updated. That meant the GPSs had no database of waypoints.

So I decided to do the next best thing - get some landing practice in. I turned on some jazz on the XM radio and set the heading bug in the direction of nearby KPTB. Then I punched on the autopilot and started looking for traffic (as best I could while pointed into the sun) and monitoring the gauges.

Since I was doing about 180 MPH across the ground KPTB arrived off the nose rather quickly. I powered back and told the autopilot to lose some altitude. After checking the KPTB metar on the MFD and AWOS I decided the use runway 23. Shortly afterward I heard traffic using that runway so I set up to come in behind them.

One guy reported that he was on the GPS approach to the same runway, but was 9 miles out. I figured I could easily get down before I got in his way since I was on downwind at that point. Turns out he was a helicopter so I was on the taxiway before he was near the field. He and I chatted a bit on the radio so that we were synced with each others intentions and I taxied back to do one more trip around the pattern.

I ended that loop with a touch and go. Had a nice soft touchdown but retracted all the flaps during my roll out in prep to take off again. That was my first no-flaps takeoff in the SR22 and she wasn't as happy about leaving terrafirma in that configuration. I just made sure not the rush the rotation and before long I was blasting out of the KPTB area behind that big engine.

One the way back to KJGG I was doing about 200 MPH ground speed. I landed a little longer at JGG than I wanted. I was only 20 feet off the deck crossing the threshold but I think I had a little excess speed because she took a while to finally settle down to the runway. I've been holding 85 knots on final, even though the book says to use 80, because of some advice from an instructor. Holding 85 had helped me stabilize the approach a good bit, but causes me to float a little.

I may start shooting for 80 when I'm just off the threshold (kind of an early mild flare) and see how that works out.

Here's a pic on the way back home:

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