Page 7 - Oct2016 Vol 20 No 10

Barely a month following effort was well worth it. The finalits certification, we wereprivileged to fly the Piper M600, the newest and greatest of the PA-46 turboprops in Piper’s stable. It appears that, from what we saw, fifteen years after the first Meridian was delivered, Piper has achieved the perfect formula for its personal turboprop.If you’ve tuned in late, your first impression of the M600 is that it’s a higher-horsepower, higher-gross upgrade of the M500, originally called the Malibu Meridian. You would be right, but only partially so. There’s a lot of difference between the M500 and the M600, beginning with the Garmin G3000 avionics suite in the M600. The M500 remains in the product line, largely because, at under $2 million, it fits into a lower-cost niche that isn’t served by any other new-production pressurized turboprop.According to Piper CEO Simon Caldecott, the four-year long development of the M600 has required 100,000 engineering hours and 1,800 flight test hours, but theJIM BARRETT PHOTOpropFAA testing took 150 hours and was flown in just 18 days; certification was achieved on June 17, 2016.Caldecott is especially proud of Piper’s ability to produce practically all of the components for its aircraft in-house, other than the engines, propellers, avionics and hardware items like switches. This gives the company better control over availability and inventory.The FAA granted Piper a Production Certificate for the M600 on September 1, 2016. Initially, the M600 is to be built in limited numbers, as demand dictates, rather than in disruptive up-and- down cycles. The initial rate is to be about 35 units per year, with 2016 production entirely sold out when we visited with Piper in July.Preflight TourOur test aircraft was N403MM, the first production airplane, spotless in its blue-and-white paint job with a stunning white interior. Piper’s craftsmanship reflects its desire to furnish top-drawer products forOCTOBER 2016TWIN & TURBINE • 5