Skyhawk 172/Cutlass 172
Flight Crew Commercial; Flight Crew Flight Instructor
Flight Crew Last 90 Days 200; Flight Crew Total 660; Flight Crew Type 240
Situational Awareness
Conflict NMAC
Flight Crew Took Evasive Action
Human Factors
We were flying in the Chatfeld Practice box in the Southwest Practice area at 8;000 feet MSL performing steep turns. We performed our clearing turn and made a radio call on the practice area frequency of 122.75. Upon completion of the first 180 degrees of the steep turn; we found ourselves head-on with a Cirrus. The Cirrus made no radio call and did not seem to have us in sight. We made an immediate left and turn and descent to avoid a midair collision. The Cirrus passed over us by approximately 150-200 feet. The Cirrus proceeded to fly through the rest of our practice areas making no radio calls. I made a call over the practice area alerting other pilots of the aircraft; including location; direction of flight; and altitude. The practice area frequency is listed on the Denver sectional for both areas. There is no alert area established for this very busy training location.
C172 instructor pilot reported an NMAC with a Cirrus in the Southwest Practice area near APA.