Chariot of the Gods
It was like Beyonce had come to town.
Waves of excitement and anticipation rippled through the local aviation industry; something very special was on the taxiway at Moorabbin. They said it was sleek, they said it was fast and and they said it was sexy. It was something never before seen except in mock-ups, pictures and You Tube videos. People flocked to the airport to see it in real life and I joined the migration.
When I walked into the hangar it was the only thing in the spotlights, surrounded by tittering admirers pointing and grinning. After being promised to us for 12 years, we could finally reach out and touch a genuine, operational Cirrus SF50 Vision Jet. Still with N registration on its side, this blue-and-white beauty was due to be delivered to its new owner in a few weeks. This was the appetiser for me, for I was scheduled to fly it the very next day.
Conceived during the very-light-jet (VLJ) frenzy 10 years ago, the SF50 Vision is the only design of that period to make it to market, but only then after a development hiatus when funds dried up, resurrected only by the injection of cash that came when GAIGA bought Cirrus. It had been a very rocky road from conception to the hangar at Moorabbin Airport, but clearly the Vision Jet was a survivor.
The following day would prove to me why.
“Our target altitude was 11,500 feet, and we hit that about seven minutes later.”
The day after
My total turbine experience could be etched into the side of half a Tic-Tac. I’d flown a few turbo-props, but never had the full jet experience. Mostly when the turbofans come to town, the resident writers get to sit in the air conditioned cabin and
