AOPA Pilot Magazine - January 2015 - 53

NOT ALL SIRIUS MODELS have an iPad

mounted on the panel (left). This one was
added by the Swan Air dealer in Bethalto,
Illinois. The flap lever at the top of the center console shows settings of 0, 15, and 45
degrees. The red button next to it starts
the engine. Red LED lighting (below) assures a bright panel at night. An overhead
switch panel (lower left) includes two rearview mirrors allowing the pilot to see left
and right of the rudder. Adjustable rudder
pedals (bottom center) can be moved
forward or aft by a button marked with
two feet. Throttle levers (bottom right)
have one handle attached to two bars for
support. Above the throttle are knobs for
the choke (left) and cabin heat (right).
A ground shot (opposite page) shows
clamshell doors that open upward. Just in
front of the registration number is the GRS
airframe parachute exit point.

Sirius is not the same airplane
Cirrus Aircraft manufactures in Duluth,
Minnesota, but some American pilots think
it is, says Sirius dealer Matt Swanson of
Swan Air (swanairllc.com). Let's straighten
that out. The TL-3000 Sirius is named after
a very bright star 8.5 light years from Earth
that forms the basis for our New Year's celebration. Egyptians were first to celebrate the
arrival of the then-reddish Sirius to its highest point in the sky at midnight on what is
still today New Year's Eve-probably accompanied by harp, flute, and tambourine rock
bands. Greeks named it the Dog Star and
Romans killed a red dog every year because
they thought Sirius would bring them hot
summers if they didn't. That's the Sirius we
are talking about.
That's not the only confusion. A few
potential customers are still asking how
many seats a Light Sport airplane has. A
Light Sport aircraft has only two seats, a
maximum weight of 1,320 pounds (1,430
pounds for seaplanes), and a maximum
speed of 120 knots calibrated airspeed. It
can be flown by a pilot having a valid driver's license whose most recent FAA medical
certificate application wasn't denied.
The composite-construction, Rotaxpowered TL-3000 deserves to be red-hot
in the Light Sport market. Many of the common objections to Light Sport aircraft are
overcome by its design. It is not difficult to
enter, it flew faster than a Cessna 172 during my test flight, and it is able to handle a
17-knot crosswind. There are 100 Sirius aircraft flying worldwide, including 10 in the
United States; it entered production in 2010.
At Spirit of St. Louis Airport in
Chesterfield, Missouri, it replaces an Air
Associates Cessna Skycatcher that was
used for flight training-although it was
common for lessons to be canceled because
the Skycatcher's crosswind limitation was
12 knots.
The 100-horsepower Rotax 912 engine
powers it to an average 116-knot true airspeed (adjusted for temperature and
altitude) cruise, based on a test flight out
of St. Louis Regional Airport just across the
Mississippi River from St. Louis in Alton,
Illinois. Swanson said he normally expects
112 to 114 knots true airspeed. During our
visit, another Sirius arrived with a different
model of the French-made DUC Hélices
www.aopa.org/pilot AOPA PILOT | 53

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AOPA Pilot Magazine - January 2015

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