Page 13 - Sept 19 TNT

you’ll never necessarily “get a deal.” On the other hand, there are service centers all over the United States for the Meridian, along with some very good independent PA46-only shops as well. Your local mechanic can likely perform some of the lighter work, and possibly even accomplish an annual inspection. The Decision So, which airplane should you buy? If you are a Meridian owner, should you upgrade? If you ask me, it comes down to one simple question: Are you willing to make a fuel stop? The dreaded fuel stop. That is the deciding factor in this dilemma. Ifyouhavealongwaytogoandyou must carry four-plus people on a regular basis, and you are unwilling to make that fuel stop, then the TBM 700C2 is probably the airplane for you. If you have the identical mission, know how to do math, and don’t mind making a fuel stop, the Meridian is your airplane. Both are plenty rugged, gorgeous and safe. Both can accomplish the mission – but the Meridian will be cheaper to operate. To me, a fuel stop always seems worse when planning. After a fuel stop, I almost always think, “I needed to walk around” or “I never want to be in an air- plane more than 3 hours anyway.” But sometimes the fuel stop has to be made when the weather is less than ideal, and can occasionally be an issue that nixes the entire mission. Consider how prob- lematic the routine fuel stop will be for you and weigh the added cost. Solving that question will help you make the best decision. Either way, if you’ve got the coin, both are stellar aircraft that will put a smile on your face when you open that hangar door. Recurrent Training Center AOPA Finance Joe Casey is an FAA-DPE and an ATP, CFI, CFII (A/H), MEI, CFIG, CFIH, as well as a U.S. Army UH- 60 standardization instructor/exam- iner. An MMOPA Board member, he has been a PA46 instructor for 16-plus years and has accumulat- ed 12,000-plus hours of flight time, 5,500 of which has been in the PA46. Contact Joe at: www.flycasey.com, by email at joe@flycasey.com, or by phone at 903.721.9549.