Cirrus SR Series G7+: advanced pilots are made and trained in advanced aircraft

When Cirrus co-founders, the Klapmeier brothers, began building single- engine piston aircraft during the early 1980s in the family’s barn in Baraboo, Wisconsin, they probably never imagined that, 40 years later, planes that evolved from their early work would be capable of landing themselves.

However, with the development and release of the Cirrus SR Series G7+ in 2025, that is exactly what happened.

‘Gamechanger’ is a word often adopted in aviation, with any number of new developments or innovations seemingly claiming that title. But to be truly worthy of that accolade there must be a significant shift in the current way of thinking or doing something.

With the Cirrus SR Series G7+’s entry into service, the US aircraft manufacturer introduced Safe Return Emergency Autoland, an autonomous emergency landing system backed and certified by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and has been certified by EASA, CAA and ANAC, as standard equipment in the aircraft. This was the first time in history a manufacturer has integrated Safe Return Emergency Autoland into a single-engine piston aircraft.

Cirrus The introduction of Safe Return Emergency Autoland in an advanced, high-performance aircraft designed with the signature Cirrus Airframe Parachute System (CAPS) is particularly important in the training environment. Cirrus aircraft offer flight instructors, schools and students with an elevated flying experience thanks to the company’s safety design philosophy.

“Let’s make an aircraft that has the most technologically advanced avionics and safety features”

“Right from the start, the design of the Cirrus was designed around making an aircraft that has the most technologically advanced avionics and safety features,” said Ivy McIver, Executive Director of the SR Series Product Line at Cirrus.

CAPS was the first general aviation whole airframe parachute system produced in an FAA certified aircraft, and Cirrus continues to be the only company that offers the safety feature as standard equipment on all aircraft models.

Another significant factor in Cirrus aircraft design is the pilot and passenger experience. Central to that concept are intuitive touchscreen avionics that are easily read by the pilot and the passenger with large multi-function displays showing information such as fuel and destination arrival time.

Cirrus“To give peace of mind we’ve evolved the aircraft to incorporate more safety features and creature comforts to keep it modern, comfortable and safe for everyone,” added McIver.

Today Cirrus has delivered over 10,000 SR Series aircraft with over 18 million hours of flight time.

Cirrus’ dedication to innovation, safety and advanced aircraft avionics, makes the SR Series a highly revered and trusted fleet trainer for airlines and flight schools around the world.

Lufthansa’s European Flight Academy, United Aviate Academy and the Airbus Academy have all incorporated the SR20 as part of their trainer fleet while Emirates Flight Training Academy has adopted the SR22 for cadet training.

McIver believes that the success of the SR Series has been successful with some of the industry’s largest carriers because the aircraft bridges the gap between trainers and the types of planes flown at the airlines.

“If you put someone at their early stages of flying into an aircraft that has advanced features in it, the transition into a more complex aircraft is more straightforward. The SR Series is faster than your traditional trainer. The faster the aircraft go, the more advanced the landing is, so you need to plan your descent, approach and arrival. This helps cadets get their head in the game with how to sequence those things and set them up for success with faster and more advanced aircraft that they’re going to eventually go and fly at the airline,” explained McIver.

CirrusMcIver also highlights the SR Series avionics that are “very straightforward and extremely intuitive to use.”

The aircraft allows trainees to continuously dig deeper into their advanced training. Cadets can begin using 10% of the avionics and as they progress in their training, they lean further into more complex processes.

“They can add different avionics features into their repertoire, and practice using those advanced features, so that when they transition into an airline platform, they have the experience with all the different features and avionics,” said McIver.

With the introduction of the SR Series G7+, Cirrus elevates what global airlines can expect from advanced trainer aircraft such as the SR Series with the Safe Return Emergency Autoland providing something that is truly unique.

In the event of an emergency anyone in the cabin can press the red button, activating Safe Return Emergency Autoland. Once activated advanced algorithms and sensors autonomously take command of the aircraft, communicates with air traffic control, navigates to the nearest suitable airport, executes a landing while

Cirrus While Safe Return Emergency Autoland is there for emergency situations involving pilot incapacitation the system can be expanded to assist when a pilot is task saturated, overwhelmed, spatially disoriented or flying into a circumstance that gets over their head.

“If a student goes out on their first solo flight and the weather turns and gets worse than they are capable of navigating through, the aircraft may be more capable when Safe Return Emergency Autoland is activated than they are,” explained McIver.

The feedback from airlines supports the need for an autonomous emergency system with carriers reporting situations where the Safe Return Emergency Autoland would have helped.

Jerry Pharr, Executive Director of Fleet and Special Mission at Cirrus, recounted how flight school investment in Cirrus SR Series aircraft is highly valued by cadets and their families due to the aircraft’s safety functions.

“The complexity of the avionics equates to a less complicated operation due to advanced technology features in a Cirrus and reduced workload. The capability of these aircraft is great. Flying becomes less complicated and pilot workload is reduced,” explained Pharr.

CirrusAccording to Cirrus, performance and safety remain the number one reasons that carriers select their aircraft to train their next generation of pilots.

“Emirates operate the latest and biggest jets that Airbus and Boeing have to offer, so they’re naturally inclined to lean toward the more technologically advanced platforms,” said Pharr.

Airlines are also attracted to the continued relationship they can establish with Cirrus through their Authorized Network of Training and Service Centers.

“It’s not just delivering aircraft and saying thank you for your business, moving on,” added Pharr to his response about flight training in a Cirrus. Cadets receive the same quality of instruction in the eighth hour as they did during the first hour.

“The Cirrus flight training quality that they’re seeing at the end of the day is higher,” said Pharr.

Cirrus Texas Southern University is the world’s first university with a fleet of the SR Series G7+ aircraft equipped with Safe Return Emergency Autoland.

Texas Southern University’s current fleet already uses the SR Series G7 but opted for the G7+ as well due to the aircraft’s “robust safety systems”.

Commenting on the new fleet university President J. W. Crawford III said: “The acquisition of this new fleet of advanced technology aircraft marks a defining moment in the continued ascent of Texas Southern University Aviation. This investment signals our institution’s commitment to excellence and innovation and opens the door to boundless opportunities for current and future Texas Southern University students.”

To learn more about the Cirrus SR Series G7+ visit www.cirrusaircraft.com/aircraft/sr-series.The post Cirrus SR Series G7+: advanced pilots are made and trained in advanced aircraft appeared first on AeroTime.

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