Cirrus Aircraft said today its special-mission platform, Cirrus Perception, is now FAA certified and ready to enter service for a variety of applications, including law enforcement, traffic monitoring, mapping, search and rescue, border surveillance and more. “Special-mission operators are constantly looking for ways to increase their capabilities while reducing operational costs,” said David Moser, vice president in charge of special-missions aircraft at Cirrus. The product equips a new SR22 or SR22T with a mounting system that can accommodate a wide array of sensor models and is designed to be modular, easy to mount and remove, and reconfigurable.
In addition to the external mount, the Perception package includes a dedicated electrical circuit for the special-mission equipment, and a video interface to the Garmin Perspective avionics, Moser told AVweb today. The mount can carry a payload of up to 50 pounds, with a diameter up to 10.5 inches and up to 14 inches high. The Cirrus Perception package is a $59,900 option, and is currently available only for new Generation 5 SR22 and SR22T airplanes, not as a retrofit. “The camera/sensor and any other installed special mission equipment is not included in that price,” Moser said. “Cirrus works with third-party system integrators for the sale and installation of any of the special mission equipment that a customer may need.” When not needed, the sensor mount can be removed in less than five minutes.
Moser added that the company completed a test recently with a normally aspirated SR22 loitering at a speed of 120 knots, at 3,000 feet MSL. “We were burning 7 gph, giving us up to 12 hours of endurance plus reserves,” he said. In practice, he said, endurance for the system will be a function of power, altitude, and weather.
