1/18/2023 0 Comments Piper meridian![]() The typical businessmission rarely covers more than 500 nm but, if needed, the Meridian can easilylive with the lower fuel requirements needed to handle two, three or four, withluggage, while its striking speed makes magical, short work of those typicaltrips. Payload well under 500 pounds atfull fuel is seldom the limiting factor it may imply. The one exception to the Meridian’s superlatives comes in full-fuel payload,where the Meridian, unfortunately, enforces payload limitations as strict asvirtually every aircraft in its performance class, except for the robust,much-larger, much-more expensive Pilatus PC-12. And while it maynot be perfect, the Meridian certainly comes close, and it works well enough fora perpetual piston-plane player to believe his own skills and experience to beplenty to safely and efficiently operate a Meridian, if circumstances actuallyallowed me to own such an aircraft. Pilots with more insight and knowledge than me can debate what makes anairplane perfect and whether the Meridian fits that profile. With great control harmony, intelligent cockpitergonomics and systems simplicity, New Piper may have come its closest yet tocreating a perfect pilot’s package. Abouta million less than its closest single-propjet competitors, hundreds ofthousands more than today’s leading piston twins, the Meridian stands alone inits price range with operating economies not far off the twins with speedrivaling more-expensive wings. Yeah,the TBM 700 goes about 30 knots faster, but for a price about $800,000 higher.There’s nothing else quite comparable, for the money or the capabilities. No, it’s not as fast as, say, a CessnaCitation CJ1 at 270 knots, however, the Meridian certainly is no slug. At the same time,purchase, care and feeding doesn’t keep up with the bigger dogs of thebusiness-jet world – at least, as that world exists today – versus what it maylook like a couple of years hence. The Meridian’s $1.7million package of equipment delivers capabilities exceeding the best pistontwins and approaching that of the latest business jets. The overall package of parts that makes up the whole of the Meridian made mefeel right at home, even without prop and mixture controls. Settling into theenvironment a score or so miles out over the Atlantic, the well-designed flightdeck, easy single-pilot manners and great flying characteristics made me wonderabout my original anxieties. Sure, the Meridian departs from the Mirage in more ways than engine powerbut, at its roots, the Meridian still looked and acted like other singles I’veflown and photographed.Īnd within a few minutes of our launch from VRB, while trimming for levelflight at 17,500 MSL, the Meridian and I made friends. Watching it aloft made me realize that the Meridian is really nothing morethan an unusually powered single – and past work put me at the controls ofboth a piston-powered Malibu Mirage and another Mirage converted to turboproppower. After about an hour of watching the rising sun make magic of theMeridian’s svelte, sleek lines my photo “willies” vanished and I foundmyself anxious only about how quickly they’d let me at it and hopeful they’d letme keep it for the morning. The sequence of my missions provided the antidote to my nagginganxiety. My mission today:First, photograph New Piper’s essentially all-new PA-46-500TP Meridian in apost-dawn, air-to-air mission, then sample the flying qualities of the sleekpropjet single. ![]() Note: Minimum prerequisites for enrollment apply to each of the courses above.Nonetheless, arriving at the main gate of The New Piper AircraftCorp.’s VeroBeach, Fla., (VRB) facility before dawn this morning found my little internalconflict closer to stalemated than usual a draw, if you will. Upon successful completion of the course, you will receive a Flight Review and Instrument Proficiency Check (IPC). Pilots that complete a Meridian/M500 Series Initial course can choose in-aircraft training to include a final check. Upon successful completion of the course, you will receive a flight review through the FAA Wings Program. You will also review aircraft systems, performance and procedures. SIMCOM’s Meridian/M500 recurrent courses give you the opportunity to practice normal and emergency procedures using realistic scenario based training. The combination of our, high fidelity simulators, small class sizes and experienced instructors provides the ideal learning environment. You will have the opportunity to gain knowledge and proficiency in normal and emergency procedures. SIMCOM’s Meridian/M500 initial courses provide a comprehensive overview of aircraft systems, performance, and procedures. ![]() Location: Orlando Lee Vista Training Center SIMCOM offers training on the following Meridian Series models:
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