David Toupin is flying high. The 30-year-old Texan is at the top of his game, with his Austin-based real estate investment and construction ventures booming.

For Toupin, however, time is money, and he was becoming ever more frustrated at life on the road, driving up to six hours one way for client meetings, wasting time in traffic snarl-ups, getting incensed at delayed or canceled commercial flights.

All that changed when he took delivery of his sleek, silver and black-striped Cirrus SR22T G7. “What used to kill a whole day takes two hours. Now I can fly to meet a client, close a deal, and be back in Austin before most people finish lunch. It’s made the world smaller, and everything more accessible,” he explains.

Toupin’s epiphany came after getting a ride in a friend’s jet, seeing the flexibility it offered and the potential it presented for growing his own businesses. He immediately signed up for the Cirrus Private Pilot Program, did an introductory flight, and, as he says, “fell in love with flying.” He even placed an order for a new Cirrus SR22T G7 before finishing the program.

His booming Stallion Paving operation—the construction arm of the Toupin Holdings group—is arguably benefitting the most from the arrival of the Cirrus. At least once or twice a week, his estimators need to be in either Dallas, Houston, or San Antonio to view a site. Now, he says, he can fly them there within an hour. He arranges them at local airport FBOs so he can fly in, do the deal, and fly home.

Further adding to the time saving, Toupin even bases his company office at the fast-developing Salado Airport in Texas, just 30 minutes north of Austin. The Cirrus is ready to leave at a moment’s notice.

Toupin says choosing the Cirrus SR22T as his first aircraft was a “no brainer,” largely because of its long list of landmark safety features.

Top of his list, he explains, is the plane’s revolutionary Cirrus Airframe Parachute System^® or CAPS^® for short. Described as “the most significant innovation in the last 50 years of aviation,” it’s the first FAA-certified, whole-aircraft parachute safety system included as standard equipment on all Cirrus aircraft.

If a pilot experiences difficulties, pulling a red T-handle deploys the 2,400-square-foot parachute. This can support the aircraft’s weight, allowing a gentle descent with the wings level. Latest figures show that more than 280 people have returned home safely as a result of the inclusion of CAPS as a standard feature on all Cirrus aircraft.

Toupin says that nervous first-time passengers quickly relax once they hear about the Cirrus safety features. “It’s so easy for me to make them feel comfortable when I tell them the plane has a parachute,” he says.

He’s also excited about the latest safety innovation on the SR Series G7+ with Safe Return™ Emergency Autoland powered by Garmin. Cirrus is the first to implement the safety system in single-engine piston aircraft, which are more widely flown versus a jet. In an emergency, anyone in the cabin can activate the system with a push of a ceiling-mounted red button. This then initiates the seemingly impossible: a safe, completely autonomous landing at a suitable nearby airport.

Using sophisticated algorithms, advanced sensors, and automated flight controls, the system enables the Cirrus to land itself without pilot input. A single touch of a button will navigate the Cirrus to the nearest suitable airport; notify air traffic control; avoid terrain, obstacles, and weather; and then safely land the aircraft. It will even bring it to a full stop and shut down the engine—all completely autonomous.

If a pilot is flying solo, or those in the cabin are unable to hit the button, the system is designed to activate automatically if it determines the pilot is unresponsive.

“It’s my firm belief that this is the safest plane out there,” says Toupin.

He’s also impressed by his SR22T’s performance, which he says helps make the Cirrus so much fun to fly. With its 315 hp turbocharged six-cylinder Continental engine, it has a max cruise speed of 213 knots, plus a range of over 1,000 nautical miles. And with a maximum operating altitude of 25,000 feet, Toupin has the comfort of knowing he can typically fly above any challenging weather.

Toupin also takes comfort in numbers. Since the SR Series was first introduced in 1999, over 10,000 aircraft have been delivered. And to date, worldwide flight time on Cirrus aircraft totals over 19 million hours.

“Yes, it took me two years to officially become a pilot, but it feels good to have the ultimate, go anywhere/anytime freedom in life. I can’t imagine living without my Cirrus,” he says.