Cessna Corvalis TTX

400, which Cessna bought out of bank- ruptcy and called the Cessna 400, and later the Corvalis TT. Lancair equates to speed and the TTX doesn't disappoint, currently carrying the mantle of the fast- est piston-engine airplane in production. The Cirrus SR22T and larger, pressurized Piper Mirage battle it out for second place, with published max speeds of214 and 213 KTAS respectively. In all cases, these are certified perfor- mance numbers, so they have proven to be possible under standard conditions, most likely at ideal weights. Expect to see slightly more pedestrian numbers in your day-to-day flying, especially if you value fuel flows. Like others in its category, the TTX demands tradeoffs. If you want to go a long way, you'll not be filling more than two seats. Final performance data were not available to us at press time, but it appears www.aopa.org/pllot AOPA PILOT I 55 that with a full 102 gallons on board you'll have something around 377 pounds avail- able for people and gear in an airplane equipped with air conditioning (which is standard) and a TKS anti-icing system (which is optional, but installed on the air- plane we flew). Knocking the fuel down to 60 gallons saves 252 pounds and allows another adult to come along, and lots of gear, and still provides a respectable range of about 450 nm with IFR reserves. The X factor brings about for the first time the availability of a fiight-into- known-icing certified TKS anti-icing system, which will be available in mid- 2013; airbag seatbelts; an Iridium satellite transceiver for sending and receiving text messages and worldwide weather data; 56 I AOPA PILOT September 2012 Garmin's electronic stability protection (ESP), which helps keep the pilot from straying out of the performance enve- lope when hand-flying; and, of course, the centerpiece of the airplane-the new Cessna Intrinzic panel, powered by the touch-screen Garmin 2000 cockpit; oh, and a new T240 model number-first time Cessna has not started a model number with a "C." The company couldn't pro- vide an explanation for why the change to the "T." In explaining the Garmin 2000's new touch-screen system, Ortega says, "Want to change it? Touch it." It's good advice. The primary and multifunction displays look similar to those in the Garmin GlOOO cockpit found in the TT, except there are no knobs on the 14-inch displays, now in a widescreen configuration-like a 16:9 TV display. There are still buttons across the bot- toms of the displays. Inputs are typically done through a touch-screen controller with three knobs located on the pedestal between the front seats. Looking a little like a smartphone home page, the display's home page has a host of icons that control the entire cockpit. Tune radios, manage the audio panel, load an approach, cre- , ate or modify a flight plan, split the MFD • in half-it's all a touch or two away. Get lost in the menu? There's a Back button and a Home button. The intuitive inter- face is designed to remove the need to memorize knob turns, says Ortega. Like the old-fashioned way? There's a back-up knob interface unit on the glareshield to the left of the autopilot mode controller. The panel is truly all glass, with the compass the only "analog" device left; dual alternators and batteries provide the electrical backup through a split bus sys- tem. The PFD/MFD can be swapped and are further backed up by dual AHRS. If all else fails, an L-3 Avionics Trilogy back-up display has its own battery and enough information to get you down safely. The $734,000 base price is eye-widen- ing, but delivers an impressively capable airplane. TKS is an additional $49,500. Flying only stateside? You can probably skip the ADF, an $18,750 option. CONNECTED TO the flight controls via push rods, the sidestick sustains the TTX's fighter-like feel. An overhead panel controls systems typically accessed only once or twice on a flight. Production TTXs will have TKS leading edges flush mounted; this is a development airplane. The base airplane comes with a pas- sel of creative new paint scheme and color options, and four interior color options. Cessna announced a new cus- tom interior and paint scheme option at EAA AirVenture in late July. Just about any combination you can dream up is possible-for a fee-as evidenced by the seemingly Cubism-inspired black, gold, and gray airplane we flew (referred to as the Steelers airplane by the staff). TTX subassemblies are built at a Cessna plant in Mexico and shipped to Independence, Kansas, for final assem- bly and paint. Look for the first ones to be delivered late this year. AOPA EMAIL thomas.haines@aopa.org KIRBY ORTEGA Longtime Cessna employee Kirby Ortega has flown about everything the company has ever built, but his passion is for the piston-powered airplanes. The 2002 FAA Flight Instructor of the Year, he has spent literally years of his life flying and instructing in Cessna singles. The new T240 designator for the Corvalis TTX makes a statement about how different the Lancair- designed airplane is from the homegrown singles Cessna is famous for. While cable and pulleys are de rigueur for moving flight controls on the Kansas- designed airplanes, the Corvalis uses push rods to move the ailerons and elevator-all managed not from a stodgy yoke. but a stylish side stick festooned with buttons. The all-composite airframe looks as sporty as it flies. The word "sporty" is seldom used to describe any of the Cessna aluminum airplanes-even by Ortega, who loves them all. "With the direct control, think about turning and it does it," Ortega says of the TTX. www.aopa.org/pilot AOPA PILOT I 57