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capabilities of that plane. Especially flying out of Stellar Airpark (P19), which has a short runway, in the heat of the summer, I now had important considerations, like weight restric- tions. So, I was getting concerned about that. We had scheduled my transition training in Tennessee, but then Covid hit, and my training was canceled. At that time, the mortgage industry was experiencing serious uncertainties, as did the entire economy, so we canceled our purchase,” VanTrojen recalled.
“Then I was like, ‘I don’t know what to do now.’ And my next-door neighbor,
Aaron and his Epic
a huge benefit and selling point. I love to take every trip with full fuel, even if I don’t need it. I would never want to be that guy with fuel concerns and never have been.”
Not only can you fill the tanks and go in the Epic, but its runway operations are also noteworthy, Van- Trojen advises.
“I can take off from my home base in Chandler in the heat of the summer with zero concerns about the runway length. The Epic takes off in only half the runway’s distance at Stellar, about 2,200 feet. I’m using half the runway, approximately, to get off the ground, and the Epic stops in even less than half the runway. And that’s in the summer, so if you can get in and out of here without any issues during the hot months - you can get in or out of just about anywhere. So the performance is unbeatable,” he stated.
“The Epic is just very, very capa- ble and is exceptionally fast. I cruise at roughly 305 knots and have even gone faster than that with no winds. I typically cruise at 34,000 feet, where my fuel burn is about forty-eight gal- lons per hour. Which is not bad at all, especially when compared to a jet. And a smaller jet will go how much faster? Not a lot!”
VanTrojen first became acquainted with Epic’s performance characteris- tics during initial transition training with the aircraft.
“I went to Bend, Oregon for transi- tion training in the aircraft because they didn’t have a simulator then. Now they do. So, the transition training was
Aaron and Telle VanTrojen at the Epic factory
who was flying a Pilatus PC-12 as a charter pilot, said I should just get a Piper Meridian. That way, I could learn how to fly a turboprop and then figure out where to go from there.”
VanTrojen flew his Meridian for only a year while working up to his next plane. He quickly realized that another aircraft, the progress of which he’d been tracking for several years, would be the perfect next step.
“I had been watching the Epic go through its process of going from an experimental aircraft to a certified one. I started calling them and de- cided that was the right plane for me. I needed something relatively small since I didn’t need to carry many pas- sengers and wanted something fast. Speed was the selling point for me. And I couldn’t find any plane that
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matched it in its class. Especially fly- ing in and out of Stellar in the heat of the Arizona summer.”
Not only is the PT6A-67A-pow- ered Epic fast, but VanTrojen also reported that it has attractive payload capabilities - especially compared to the Meridian.
“I learned quickly with the Me- ridian that it’s not always a true six- passenger airplane. It may have six seats, but you will typically not put six people in it - unless you are just hopping up to Sedona for breakfast. It has weight restrictions. The Epic’s payload is 1,100 pounds, with fuel full. While it’s unlikely that you will put six people in it with full fuel, you can probably get five, and certainly four, with luggage. To have that capability and not have to reduce the fuel load is