Vision Jet G3 Cabin Interior
With 11,000 SR series piston aircraft delivered as well, Cirrus has proven once again they listen to their customers and innovate.
Cirrus Aircraft has come a long way since I attended the unveiling of The Jet in 2007 in Duluth. Most of the early design tenets have remained constant and now with over 700 jets, now named the Vision Jet SF50, Cirrus has released their latest model – the G3.
With 11,000 SR series piston aircraft delivered as well, Cirrus has proven once again they listen to their customers and innovate.
I had the opportunity to fly the new Cirrus Vision Jet G3 with Matt Bergwall, Executive Director of Cirrus’ Jet Product Line, for two days, prior to its public release. It was so much fun to fly it, but wasn’t easy keeping it a secret. While in San Diego we kept it under wraps in my hangar at Montgomery-Gibbs (KMYF). Having flown all the versions, and obtaining a type rating along the way, it was another wonderful flying experience.
The G3 has over 30 enhancements to the G2+, combining exterior refinements, interior cabin functionality and comfort improvements, and new avionics capabilities with their latest Garmin G3000 suite.
Exterior
When approaching a Vision Jet G3 the first noticeable difference is the new Cirrus paint and graphic designs, particularly their Arrivée Special Edition style offering. With bold graphics and lettering it is easy to distinguish the models.
As you look closer you will see black Goodrich deice boots. Up until this model, Cirrus had utilized the Goodrich Silverboot pneumatic deice boots. While I always thought the silver colored deice boots had a nice appearance, they do take a bit more maintenance to maintain them in pristine condition, in addition a growing number of Cirrus Vision Jet owners are choosing darker exterior paint schemes, and the new boots complement these colors. Both the current, and previous boots, are urethane-based which offer great life and popular cosmetic products work well on both.
Cirrus introduced their Spectra line of wingtips with integrated recognition and nav lights in their G6 series of SRs. With the Vision Jet G3, they have expanded that offering to the jet, with the inclusion of extremely bright forward lights as well as a distinctive halo of LED lighting on the exterior of the wing tip. They provide nearly three times the illumination of the previous models. The illumination improvement was obvious to me when landing and taxiing at night and offered a great forward view of the runway and taxiways. The wingtip lights are also powered when the aircraft courtesy lights are on, which along with the SF50s other courtesy lights provide lighting not available on other jets. Just another example of Cirrus’ attention to detail and customer focus.
As you move around the airplane you may notice a new antenna beneath the aircraft. This is the VHF com antenna for the new Garmin GDR 66 datalink radio (more on that later). On the right nose, where the air conditioning vent door was located on the previous models you will notice a fixed louver. This was a very intelligent change; no longer do you have to deal with a vent door and actuator and the associated noise when it was open. Now the fixed louver provides adequate cooling for the exchanger, and I found it was much quieter in flight than with the previous design.
Step Inside
When you open the cabin door you will notice several significant changes. The first perhaps is the easier method for moving the forward seats. No longer is it a two-handed operation, one to lift the seat release lever beneath the seat and the other to disengage the track safety lock. Now with one hand lifting the release lever it simultaneously disengages the track lock, and you can move the seat.
The seat trim has also changed, with Alcantara-wrapped back and upgraded leathers on the seats, along with a more comfortable design.
Cirrus installed cold shoe mount points on the seat backs for placement of personal electronic devices. It is a practical way to mount these devices for passenger use.
In the center row, the Executive Console option has been dropped, which not only saves 18 pounds, but also is not necessary now that the jet has outboard side tables that lift up vertically and rotate over the seat, with a retractable support flap for a tablet or phone. The seat weight remains the same, around 34 lbs. which make them easy to remove for more room.
One of the best cabin improvements is the rear seat. Previously the usefulness of the rear seat was limited, both in available room and only usable for children. There simply wasn’t enough room for adults. With the redesign it can now be used by two adults, or perhaps three children. Legroom for the rear passengers in previous models was limited, and Cirrus has improved that by changing the design of the center seats which now offers foot wells for the rear passengers. The center row of seats can still be easily removed in just minutes when you need additional space or payload.
A month prior to my test flights, I spent 10 days flying around the Caribbean in a Vision Jet 2+. While comfortable, the new G3 crew seats are even better, and a noticeable improvement on multiple three-hour flights in that aircraft. The recline mechanism on the front and middle seats has also been significantly improved and provides a much smoother operation.
Now the fun part – flying the G3
The Vision Jet G3 incorporates Garmin’s latest G3000 flight deck. This version builds upon the G2+ G3000 suite by adding several new features; 3-D SafeTaxi, Progressive Taxi Routing, automatic database updates via a cellular connection using the Garmin GDL60 and context-aware checklists for abnormal CAWS messages. An additional new feature is the Garmin GDR66 which provides ATC Data link which supports Controller Pilot Data Link Communications (CPDLC) within the US and Europe. CPDLC is a method to send ATC-related text messages between ATC and pilots. Since Eurocontrol and the FAA utilize different standards, each requires its own Garmin feature enablement.
Upon power-up the new Cirrus IQ Pro Advanced capability validated database currency and applied updates that had been downloaded automatically through the new Garmin GDL60. It was nice to know that our FMS would always be current.
Taxiing out from the Crownair FBO at KMYF to Runway 28R, Matt and I could view a 3-D representation of all surfaces and the markings, including intersections, ramps, and hold lines. We first experienced the 3-D SafeTaxi when we flew Garmin’s King Air 200 in 2024. The pictorial view is more than simply cool; it is an enhanced safety feature, displaying critical information on the PFD.
When we received our taxi instructions, we entered them into the Progressive Taxi Routing page. As you enter the assigned taxiways, hold short and runway instructions, your routing is overlayed on the 3-D SafeTaxi representation.
Our first flight was in the local San Diego area, flying approaches to Palomar (KCRQ) and back to KMYF. The plane is a stable IFR platform, and the autothrottle capability, first introduced in the G2 in 2019, is very useful in busy airspace. Another new FMS feature in the G3 is visual approaches – with pattern entry. While the visual approaches have been in Garmin’s G1000 NXi and G3000 avionics, this is Cirrus’ first implementation of landing patterns. The pilot simply decides which pattern (straight, left or right-handed), and either a straight, downwind, or base entry. The resulting pattern is loaded into the FMS and displayed on the MFD map, complete with altitudes.
The Cross-Country Flight Experience
The next day Matt and I departed KMYF on our first leg to Knoxville, TN, (KTYS) stopping at Tradewind Airport (KTDW) near Amarillo, TX, which is a great FBO and fast fuel stop.
As we climbed through the SoCal airspace, we initiated the logon process for the CPDLC. To utilize this, the pilot starts the process by logging into the associated ATC Center, in our case Los Angeles. The process couldn’t be simpler – simply press the LOGON selection on the GTC, and in a few seconds confirmation is received. The pilot then confirms the contact as you do for each message. Now the fun begins.
Vision Jet G3 – CPLDC Message History
We were now in direct connection to ATC via the datalink. Our first message, signaled by a tone, was to change frequency. The new frequency appeared on the GTC, “Contact LOS ANGELES Center 126.8”. I confirmed by selecting Set Freq which then presented us with the option to load the new frequency into the selected radio. When completed, we did acknowledge the change by contacting ATC on the new frequency. As soon as we did that, Los Angeles Center assigned us FL310 – all through CPDLC.
It was a beautiful day to fly and as usual, the view from the flight deck on the Vision Jet was incredible. The sand dunes in the southwest desert shape shift with the winds, and the view always changes presenting a new experience on every flight.
As we were climbing to our flight level, one of the first observations with the G3 is the noise reduction over previous models. The replacement of the AC vent door in the nose with the new louver makes a significant difference.
ATC – Can you repeat?
The Garmin CPDLC implementation is capable of more than just frequency changes, and altitude assignments. When your aircraft is connected via CPDLC, the ATC data block is surrounded by a box and changes color when we acknowledge the transmission. Nothing could be easier.
The pilot or ATC can request, or assign, virtually all flight plan components. These range from requests
for different routings, and altitudes, to position reports and other flight updates. On our second leg from KTDW to Knoxville we flew through Fort Worth Center’s airspace. The controller had some free time and asked us about our flight and the new CPDLC – since we were the first Vision Jet in his airspace with the capabilities. Apparently, Fort Worth Center is a testbed for CPDLC rollout, and it has access to features earlier than other centers. He mentioned his love of Knoxville and suddenly, we received a text message – GO VOLS for the University of Tennessee Volunteer teams!
Continuing to KTYS voice communication was a bit spotty and we could hear some aircraft having difficulty confirming their new assigned frequency. Flying the G3, we simply confirmed the frequency change on the G3000 and contacted the next Center.
As night approached, we checked on the weather at Knoxville, we planned for descent through the clouds with potential icing and light snow at KTYS. The onboard Garmin GWX 8000 radar is an excellent complement to the SiriusXM weather and provides yet another layer of information. I also enjoy using the infrared Enhanced Vision System (EVS) cameras on the Vision Jet at night in flight. It can provide additional insight into the presence of the clouds invisible in our view out the windshield, and in our case, we were just above the stratus layer.
Descending through the clouds and light icing and landing, the new Spectra lighting package with increased illumination was very helpful. Taxiing to Cirrus’ hangar at KTYS, the advantages of Garmin’s 3D SafeTaxi and Progressive Taxiing were readily apparent, especially with light snow falling. Matt and I quickly put the G3
away to keep it under wraps until the unveiling a few days later.
Cirrus, Garmin, and their other partners have once again produced an excellent product that pushes the boundaries and moves aviation forward. With over 750 SF50s produced so far, they have obviously not only found a way to fill the need for personal jets, but they created the market.
