Cirrus Aircraft announced on June 4, 2026, that it has added a new SR Series Annual Flight Review Course to its Cirrus Approach training catalog. The half-day course covers SR20, SR22, and SR22T pilots, combines online learning with ground and flight instruction from a Cirrus Standardized Instructor Pilot (CSIP), and satisfies the FAA’s biennial flight review requirement under 14 CFR 61.56. The course costs $250 and is available for purchase through the Cirrus Approach portal.
The key detail that sets this apart from a standard flight review: Cirrus will update the course content annually to focus on current safety priorities — starting with stabilized approaches and go-arounds for 2026.
What Does the Course Include?
The Cirrus Annual Flight Review is structured as a three-segment program designed to be completed in a single half-day session:
Segment 1 — Online learning. Before meeting with an instructor, pilots complete three online lessons through the Cirrus Approach digital platform. The coursework includes 14 instructional videos and two quizzes covering the year’s safety focus areas, aircraft systems review, and aeronautical decision-making concepts.
Segment 2 — Ground assessment. A one-on-one ground session with a CSIP or Cirrus Training Center (CTC) instructor covers the topics from the online module in depth, with a formal ground assessment to verify understanding.
Segment 3 — Flight assessment. The final segment is a flight with the CSIP, applying the concepts from the ground and online portions. The flight assessment focuses on the practical skills emphasized in that year’s curriculum — for 2026, that means stabilized approach procedures and go-around execution.
Cirrus estimates the total course takes approximately four hours, including the online portion. Once the instructor signs off on all three segments, the course satisfies the FAA’s flight review requirement — meaning pilots don’t need a separate biennial flight review as long as they complete this course within the required 24-month window.
Why Did Cirrus Build This?
Cirrus has been investing heavily in its training ecosystem for years. The Embark transition training program (included free with every new Cirrus purchase), the Mission Ready Simulator Sessions, and the broader Cirrus Approach digital learning platform all reflect a company philosophy that Zean Nielsen, Cirrus CEO, described in the announcement: “Cirrus is dedicated to promoting continuous flight training as a lifestyle.”
The Annual Flight Review course fits into that strategy by creating one more structured touchpoint between the pilot and the Cirrus training network. Most GA pilots complete a biennial flight review with a local CFI — a session that varies widely in structure, content, and rigor depending on the instructor. Cirrus is offering a standardized alternative that ensures every SR Series pilot who takes the course covers the same material, assessed against the same benchmarks, by an instructor trained to Cirrus’s standards.
The annual cadence is also deliberate. The FAA requires a flight review every 24 months. Cirrus is encouraging pilots to complete one every 12 months instead — aligning with what aviation insurance underwriters have been pushing for years. As covered in depth in our recent article on recurrent training and insurance, pilots who complete annual training programs consistently receive preferred insurance pricing, with typical premium discounts of 5 to 10 percent.
What Are the 2026 Safety Focus Areas?
For the inaugural 2026 course, Cirrus selected two focus areas: stabilized approaches and go-arounds.
Both are directly tied to the leading causes of GA accidents. Unstabilized approaches — arriving at the runway too fast, too high, too steep, or misaligned — are a precursor to loss-of-control accidents during landing. Go-arounds are the correct response to an unstabilized approach, but many pilots hesitate to execute them because they practice them so rarely.
NBAA’s Q1 2026 safety review flagged stabilized approaches as a continuing concern across business aviation. The NTSB has repeatedly identified failure to execute a go-around as a contributing factor in fatal landing accidents. Cirrus’s decision to build its first annual course around these two topics is well-aligned with the data.
The plan to update the curriculum annually means the 2027 course will focus on different safety priorities — presumably drawn from accident data, NTSB recommendations, and patterns emerging from Cirrus’s own fleet.
Who Is This Course For?
The course is designed for all SR Series pilots — SR20, SR22, and SR22T — regardless of whether they currently own a Cirrus. That’s an important detail. Many Cirrus training programs are tied to ownership or purchase. This one is open to anyone with SR Series experience.
It’s particularly well-suited for three groups:
Current Cirrus owners approaching their flight review. If your biennial flight review is coming due, completing the Cirrus Annual Flight Review satisfies the FAA requirement while giving you structured, type-specific training instead of a generic review. The $250 price is competitive with what most CFIs charge for a standard flight review when you factor in aircraft rental.
Pilots who want to fly annually instead of biennially. Insurance underwriters reward annual training. Completing this course every year — instead of waiting 24 months for the minimum flight review — builds a documented training record that directly improves your insurance profile.
Lapsed or low-currency Cirrus pilots. If you haven’t flown in several months, the structured format — online refresher followed by ground and flight with a standardized instructor — is a safer and more thorough way to get current than a quick pattern flight with a local CFI who may not know the Cirrus systems in depth.
How Does This Fit Into the Cirrus Training Ecosystem?
The Annual Flight Review sits alongside several other Cirrus Approach programs:
Cirrus Embark is the complimentary transition training program included with every new Cirrus purchase. It pairs new owners with a CSIP for one-on-one training tailored to their experience level, covering aircraft control, engine management, integrated avionics, and emergency procedures including CAPS deployment.
Mission Ready Simulator Sessions are scenario-based courses completed in an AATD or BATD simulator, focusing on real-world decision-making, systems knowledge, and risk management. These are developed by experienced CSIPs and offered through the Cirrus Training Center network.
Cirrus Approach portal is the digital learning platform that hosts all online coursework, including the new Annual Flight Review’s three lessons and two quizzes. Pilots access it at learning.cirrusapproach.com.
The Annual Flight Review adds recurrent proficiency to a training catalog that already covers transition (Embark), advanced scenarios (Mission Ready), and self-study (Approach). Together, they create a continuous learning pathway from first flight in a Cirrus through years of ownership — exactly the kind of structured, documented training history that insurance underwriters and safety organizations want to see.
How Do You Sign Up?
The SR Series Annual Flight Review Course is available for $250 through the Cirrus Approach portal at learning.cirrusapproach.com. You can also enroll by contacting a Cirrus Training Center or CSIP directly.
After purchasing the course, complete the three online lessons, videos, and quizzes. Then schedule a half-day session with your CSIP to complete the ground and flight assessments. Once signed off, the course satisfies the FAA’s 14 CFR 61.56 flight review requirement.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the Cirrus Annual Flight Review Course? The Cirrus SR Series Annual Flight Review is a three-segment training course — online learning, ground instruction, and flight assessment with a Cirrus Standardized Instructor Pilot (CSIP). It covers SR20, SR22, and SR22T pilots, costs $250, takes approximately four hours, and satisfies the FAA’s biennial flight review requirement under 14 CFR 61.56. The course content is updated annually.
Does the Cirrus Annual Flight Review satisfy the FAA flight review requirement? Yes. Completing all three segments of the course — online lessons, ground assessment, and flight assessment with a CSIP — satisfies the FAA flight review requirement under 14 CFR 61.56. The FAA requires a flight review every 24 calendar months, but Cirrus encourages pilots to complete this course annually.
How much does the Cirrus Annual Flight Review cost? The course costs $250, available through the Cirrus Approach portal or by contacting a Cirrus Training Center or CSIP. The price covers the online coursework, ground assessment, and flight assessment. Aircraft rental and instructor flight time may be billed separately depending on the training provider.
Do I need to own a Cirrus to take the course? No. The SR Series Annual Flight Review is available to all SR20, SR22, and SR22T pilots regardless of current aircraft ownership. Any pilot with SR Series experience can enroll through the Cirrus Approach portal.
What safety topics does the 2026 course cover? The 2026 course focuses on stabilized approaches and go-arounds — two areas consistently identified by the NTSB and NBAA as leading contributors to GA landing accidents. Cirrus plans to update the course content annually to address current safety priorities based on emerging data and fleet trends.
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