![]()
New trainer options over the past quarter century have been few and far between. Trainers optimally are efficient, sturdy enough for repeated hard landing abuse and come with a robust support network. So, when an OEM like Cirrus talks, flight schools listen. It's newest option to the trainer market already has over 100 orders, opening the question of what will happen to the SR20s, Diamonds, and Skyhawks schools fly now?The Cirrus TRAC10 was launched on Monday as a training aircraft specifically designed for professional, collegiate, and career-oriented flight schools. It is powered by a turbocharged Rotax 916 iSc FADEC engine, is configured for three seats, and is equipped with the Cirrus Airframe Parachute System (CAPS). The trainer is priced at $499,900 and the order books cover 13 professional flight schools worldwide. U.S. deliveries are planned to begin in 2027, while international deliveries will be in 2028. Cirrus states that the Rotax engine can burn as little as 5.9 gallons per hour at 65% power in cruise. It can also run on multiple different fuels including 100LL avgas, unleaded 91/94 and certain Mogas blends (most legacy trainers are certified for 100LL use only, along with the inherent baggage that fuel type brings to the table). Low fuel consumption reduces flight training cost, while its wide variety of fuel options makes it adaptable for a wide range of training environments. By standardizing their fleet to the TRAC10 and selling off the mixed used fleet it flew before, flight schools can also standardize fleet maintenance. Additionally, students can be taught using Full Authority Digital Engine Control (FADEC), where a computer manages the engine, so the pilot moves one power lever instead of handling throttle, propeller, and mixture all at the same time. Students trained on FADEC can forgo learning manual leaning and prop management techniques, which is an indication that flight schools are shifting training philosophies.If flight academies start standardizing the TRAC10 as their primary trainer, expect SR20s, DA40s, and 172s to slowly start entering the used market as deliveries begin. That influx of metal should act as a buying signal for piston shoppers with prices loosening. The aircraft most likely to be replaced are not older 172s but late-model aircraft that were specifically bought as trainers, since those are the fleets a TRAC10 order is designed to replace.