Never in my life did I imagine I would ever buy a new airplane…
Lewis Donzis, a computer networking entre-preneur from San Antonio, Texas, has owned three Piper aircraft, including the 2022 M600 he flies for business and personal missions.
Donzis is the first owner of serial number 4698198 (the first M600 delivered in 2022) and has flown the aircraft nearly 500 hours to date. Piper’s former flagship turboprop is the pinnacle of the software engineer’s longtime passion for aviation.
“Never in my life did I imagine I would ever buy a new airplane. You know, it just never made sense [previously], but the stars just happened to align in multiple ways,” Donzis explained, noting that he placed an order for this M600 in late 2021 – taking advantage of Piper’s limited time ‘Ultimate Care Plus Fuel’ deal.
In addition to fixed, predictable operating costs during the warranty period and beyond, the cost of capital at the time of purchase was extremely favorable.
“There is a constant trade in aviation between capex and opex. As an engineer, I usually like to take it to the extreme to make an example. You can buy a 50-year-old jet pretty cheaply, so it’s not necessarily the purchase price that always drives the decision alone,” he said.
“[After COVID] they weren’t discounting planes much at all, but interest rates were near zero and I looked at the economics of the program, and it was pretty sweet. You pay for your hangar, insurance, and fuel, and you basically get everything else. They threw in charts, compressor washes, training, tires, brakes, battery, all inspections, and even a hundred hours of fuel per year. My first annual was the cheapest airplane bill I ever had.”
Economics aside, the primary reason that Donzis decided to purchase the aircraft was its performance. Book numbers tout the M600 as a 1,658 nautical mile aircraft (with 45-minute reserve) at 184 KTAS – with a service ceiling of 30,000 feet.
The PT6A-42A powered aircraft strikes a healthy balance between speed, range, and economics, exactly what Donzis hoped for when moving on from the Piper Malibu Mirage he had owned for eight years.
“By Piper’s cruise numbers, it burns about 45 gallons per hour. However, my plane came with the RVSM STC – so at the upper altitudes, it’s burning about 37 or 38 gallons at 270 to 275 knots. It’s pretty much a TBM 700, really, with a much lower fuel burn,” Donzis began while highlighting some of the considerations between other options that were also under consideration.
“The Epic E1000 and Cirrus Vision Jets are great airplanes and a bit faster, but they don’t have this range, so if they have to make a stop, they’re definitely not faster at all. The only airplane that’s really comparable in that regard is the TBM, which is about 20% faster on 50% more fuel, with significantly more maintenance expense. They achieve similar range only because they carry more fuel. As ever, going faster costs more.”
The M600 is a great regional transporter, with the legs to meet the demands of longer missions. The aircraft has a 260-gallon fuel capacity, with a published useful load of 2,400 pounds.
“With full fuel, range at normal cruise is around 1,400 nautical miles. The airplane has a solid 5.5 hours of endurance with reserves, but that’s a bit longer than we like to fly. We have, however, made quite a few five-hour trips, such as San Antonio to Teterboro. We frequently use FL290/300 because it’s more efficient and weather avoidance is good. We always land with at least 300 pounds (45 gallons), which is about an hour of reserve. We are generally well in excess of that, even after a five-hour flight.”
“There is no plane on the market that will do what the M600 will do with that fuel burn, at that speed, and with that kind of range. And it’s the only thing I’ve ever encountered in aviation that beats the book numbers, hands down, every day of the week. It performs between three and four percent better in almost every circumstance.”
While Donzis’ San Antonio International Airport (KSAT) home base has more than enough pavement for the M600, the aircraft’s relatively minimal takeoff and landing distances were an added bonus.
I feel extremely lucky to own and fly such a wonderful aircraft, so perhaps it is a dream airplane.
“I have been into some decently short runways. We had to go to D.C. for an event, and I got booked and fingerprinted for MD-3 just because I wanted to fly into College Park Airport (KCGS) at least once in my life. The runway there is just under 3,000 feet long, which is really not a challenge for the plane,” he advised.
“The ref speed is really slow. But with the new wing [on the M600, compared to previous PA-46 models], the full flap speed is also really low – 113 knots. So, you have to slow down a lot to put full flaps in. And you can’t fly an approach at 113, or ATC would be unhappy, so our real Vref for an approach is around 125 knots because you can pull it back to 85 pretty quickly on short final.”
Donzis advised of other important numbers of reference on the Garmin G3000 that is standard on the M600, the smallest and least expensive aircraft with that avionics system.
“An interesting difference between the Meridian and the M600 is the VMO speed. In the Meridian, I believe it’s 188 knots, and you are always pulling the power back to come down [below that limit]. In the M600, they increased the VMO to 250 knots. This is helpful all the time, especially in busy airspace. I get assigned 210 in the pattern and ATC is happy to merge a plane that can keep up with the heavier traffic. If you say ’unable,’ I don’t think you’re going to get the same treatment.”
The six-seat turboprop’s systems were also attractive to the technically inclined aviator who had moved into the aircraft after logging about 1,500 hours in the PA-46 series.
“The GWX 8000 [StormOptix] weather radar is absolutely amazing for a small aircraft. After all those years of Archie Trammell courses and fooling with tilt and vertical profile, this thing is incredibly simple to use. You just put it in ‘auto’ mode, and that’s it! And amazingly, I’ve seen it paint weather with decent accuracy over 200 miles away. The GDL 60 Datalink is the pinnacle of convenience. No more chart updates; the airplane downloads the charts while sitting in the hangar,” he explained.
I feel extremely lucky to own and fly such a wonderful aircraft, so perhaps it is a dream airplane.
The M600 was the first aircraft equipped with Garmin’s Autoland system, appropriately dubbed ‘HALO’ in Piper models that sport it.
“Auto throttle is more useful than I thought it would be. It provides much of what FADEC offers (including engine protection and automatic climb, cruise, and descent power management) and makes speed management awfully simple.”
Donzis is more than pleased with the M600, which he often refers to as his dream aircraft, for several reasons. His experience has been bettered, in part, by the partner just a quick taxi from the hangar where the aircraft is kept. He explained that Cutter Aviation’s maintenance facility on-field in San Antonio has been a tremendous partner – from assisting in aircraft selection through purchase and delivery to beyond.
“I feel extremely lucky to own and fly such a wonderful aircraft, so perhaps it is a dream airplane. It does everything we ask of it and more. I don’t think this is the last airplane I’ll ever own, but it’s been truly wonderful to us,” he stated.
“It’s always great to go higher and faster, and the M700 is a great improvement. It’s essentially the same aircraft but with more power, and who doesn’t like more power? Faster climb, faster cruise, and because of tweaks to the intake and exhaust, I’ve heard it’s a little bit more efficient at M600 speeds – but who wants to do that? And who knows, maybe there’s an M800 in the works?”
