Cirrus SR20 Checklist

What the Cirrus SR20 is

The Cirrus SR20 is a four- or five-seat, single-engine composite airplane that has been in continuous production since 1999, and it flies differently from the aluminum trainers most pilots learn on. It is fixed tricycle gear, fuel-injected in every generation (no carburetor and no carb heat), and controlled through a side yoke rather than a center stick or a traditional yoke. Its two defining features are a fuel selector with LEFT, OFF, and RIGHT positions but no BOTH, so you actively manage tank balance in cruise, and the Cirrus Airframe Parachute System (CAPS), a whole-airframe parachute that reframes the entire emergency philosophy of the airplane. The line spans the G1 through G6 generations: G1 through G5 use a Continental IO-360 of about 200 horsepower, while the current G6 switched to a Lycoming IO-390 of about 215 horsepower and Perspective+ glass. Who flies it: owner-pilots stepping up from trainers into a fast, modern cross-country airplane, flight schools and clubs that have standardized on the type, and renters building glass-panel and Cirrus-transition time. Pilots moving to it from a Cessna have to unlearn two habits immediately: there is no BOTH tank position to set and forget, and the response to a genuine loss of control is to pull the CAPS handle, not to fly a conventional recovery. This template centers on the current-production G6; if you fly an earlier Continental-powered SR20, your starting technique, some V-speeds, and avionics steps differ and should come from that serial’s own POH.

The SR20 is the airplane that made me rethink what “emergency procedure” even means, because so much of it comes back to one decision: is this a CAPS situation or not. I built this card around the G6 since that is what most people are renting or buying new, and I deliberately left every CAPS speed and altitude number off it, because those are the ones you must confirm against your own POH and your Cirrus-standardized instructor. Print it, add your tail number, and treat the parachute as trained, not as a gimmick.

Normal procedures

The normal flow runs preflight and walkaround, before-start, engine start, taxi, run-up and before-takeoff, takeoff (normal and short/soft-field), climb, cruise, descent, before-landing, after-landing, and shutdown and securing, with a G6 V-speed table. Two type habits shape the card: the LEFT/OFF/RIGHT selector with no BOTH position means active tank management in cruise, so the fuel selector recurs at before-start, run-up, cruise, before-landing, and shutdown; and because the engine is fuel-injected there is no carb-heat line anywhere. The electric fuel pump logic for before- and after-landing is left as “per your revision” because POH wording differs across serials.

Emergency procedures

The emergency section is where the SR20 differs most from a conventional single, and the whole thing turns on one decision: is this a CAPS situation or not. It covers engine failure on the takeoff roll, engine failure after takeoff, engine failure in flight with a restart attempt, engine fire, electrical fire / smoke, a CAPS activation flow, and an alternator abnormal, with the reflex memory items in bold. By design it carries no CAPS deployment speed and no minimum deployment altitude — those numbers are safety-critical, they change across generations and serials, and a wrong number on a card is worse than none. The card gives you the decision and the sequence and sends you to your POH and a Cirrus-standardized CFI for the exact figures. Treat the whole section as a trained procedure to verify, not improvise.

Verify it against your POH

The research behind this template flagged several things that genuinely vary by generation, serial, and operator. Check these against your aircraft’s approved POH and a Cirrus-standardized CFI before you rely on the card:

• Starting and priming technique. The Continental IO-360 (G1–G5) and the Lycoming IO-390 (G6) prime and start differently. The card says “per installed engine” on purpose — confirm the cold and hot start procedure for your exact engine.
• CAPS deployment speed and minimum altitude. Maximum demonstrated deployment speed (Vpd, commonly cited around 133 KIAS) and minimum recommended deployment altitude are safety-critical and vary by generation and serial. No number for either appears on this card by design — confirm both against your POH revision.
• Whether unlatching the doors before CAPS ground contact is a trained memory step or a judgment call. Sources were not consistent on how this is taught. It is listed here as “consider,” not marked as a memory item — settle it with your instructor.
• Loss-of-control / inadvertent spin guidance. This type is not approved for spins; general type guidance directs the pilot toward CAPS rather than a conventional recovery. Confirm the current wording for your serial’s POH before treating that as fixed.
• Short- and soft-field flap settings and speeds. Cited generically here; the exact degrees and numbers differ by generation — verify before flying them as fixed figures.
• Fuel pump ON/OFF logic for before-landing and after-landing. Some POH revisions differ on exactly when the electric fuel pump is required. Confirm the wording for your revision.
• Fuel drain count and door/latch detail. The card assumes five drains (two wing sumps, two collector/sump-tank drains, one gascolator) and independently latched cabin doors. Confirm both against your airframe.