SR22 flight model - wow most challenging leg of a flight ever!

qazme · July 27, 2020

So as one does I purchased my 14 hour old SR-22 on FSE. Now ferrying it up to the Caribbean from Central Brazil. After a 4.5 hour flight I prepared for descent into Barbados. I knew thunderstorms where ahead but winds were reporting 11kts gusting to 15kts with potential shear in the area. Well long story short 16nm from the airport the shear kicked in and erased any thoughts about an "on rails" flight model (it flew so well I questioned it a bit). Once I hit shear it abruptly noses up, I fought 3 to 4 of these before it caught be off guard.

On the 5th nose up I lost all nose down attitude the plane immediately went 90 degrees straight and proceeded to stall sending the nose backwards over the tail into an almost uncontrollable series of loops and just when I thought I had it under control, upside down and headed to the earth with throttles chopped I went to pull it back level. Just as I was about to breathe a shy of relief another shear hit that culminated in me just starting to enter a flat spin at 3500 feet.

It was a battle from start to finish about 45 seconds into fighting for recovery I looked at my altitude and saw me broaching 1800 feet, I had roughly 800 feet to make a decision. Can this be saved? Should I go for the CAPS? I was on the edge - decided to continue to fight - at ~950 feet recovery happened, I waited too long but I did it! What could have been a disaster of pilot error flying into conditions they probably shouldn't, low on fuel and oxygen - nowhere else to go I saved it. I was now 8 miles from the airport at which I decided I would finish at 1500 feet, shaking from adrenaline. It's the first time in a VERY long time that a simulator actually had me sitting on the ramp, engine off, thinking holy cow that was hard, interesting, exciting, scary, challenging and a true practice of years of simulator practice paying off in a very practical way. I felt accomplished!

To the group who made the plane and continue to improve it. Thank you - this weekend has been fun, but this afternoon has been a resharpening on things I need to practice more and be a little less lazy about - flight planning w/ alternate routes, stall and spin recovery, and most importantly having fun! And importantly - I now know the flight model is pretty darn accurate! ;-)