VERO BEACH – Piper Aircraft’s newest flagship, the Piper M600, has now received type certification from the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA).
On behalf of the FAA the type certificate was presented to Piper Aircraft President and CEO, Simon Caldecott by Piper’s FAA ODA Administrator Eric Wright in front of more than 700 guests, including community leaders, Piper Aircraft dealers, suppliers and Piper Aircraft employees on June 17.
“We are delighted to announce the certification of the M600 by the FAA,” said Simon Caldecott, Piper Aircraft President and CEO. “With unique and innovative safety features for the single engine turbo prop segment, the competitiveness of the M600 is further enhanced by the aircraft’s performance and industry leading operating and acquisition costs.”
Piper Aircraft validated the M600’s performance, safety, function and reliability through extensive ground and flight tests with the FAA. The total flight hours accumulated during development and certification were in excess of 1850 hours using three flight test aircraft.
“This achievement of type certification for the M600 was the result of the collaborative effort between the FAA and the team at Piper Aircraft,” said James Funk, Piper Aircraft’s Chief Operating Officer. “Both teams worked together to develop and test this exceptional product, which we can now bring to market.”
The M600 maximum range, originally expected to be 1,200 nautical miles (2,222 kilometers) with NBAA IFR reserves has been increased to a maximum range of 1,484 nm (2,748 kilometers) at intermediate cruise settings with NBAA IFR reserves. Additionally, the planned maximum cruise speed objective of 260 ktas (481 km/h) has been extended to 274 ktas (507 km/h). The M600 also boasts a Vmo speed of 250 kcas (463 km/h) and a max payload of 1,120 lbs. (508 kg).
“We continue to be impressed with the exceptional performance of the M600 and expect that the benefits will expand the capabilities and market reach of the aircraft. The overall superior value proposition within the single engine turbo prop market segment sets the M600 apart from the competition,” said Drew McEwen, Piper Aircraft Vice President of Sales and Marketing.
The M600, the most advanced and capable aircraft in Piper’s M-class line up, seats six and is powered by a Pratt & Whitney PT6A-42A turbo prop engine flat rated at 600 SHP. The aircraft has a maximum speed of 274 ktas / 507 km/h at maximum available power settings and has a max range of 1,484 nm / 2,748 km at intermediate cruise settings.
The M600 features the most sophisticated general aviation avionics suite available from Garmin. The Garmin G3000 offers industry leading intuitiveness and powerful avionics capabilities. Innovative pilot interface design allows for easy and efficient flight deck management; increasing safety margins and reducing pilot workload. Ergonomically crafted for the pilot, control of radios, audio and intercom channels, transponder codes, charts, mapping, flight plan entry and system set up have been greatly simplified with the Garmin GTC 570 touchscreen controller. The dual GTC 570s provide a centralized point of access for the majority of all avionics tuning, selection and data inputs. The M600 has enhanced safety features including Emergency Descent Mode, Electronic Stability Protection, Level Mode and Underspeed / Overspeed Protection.
The aesthetics, ergonomics and technologies of the new Piper M600 aircraft redefine comfort and convenience. The M600 interior features newly styled seats, which have been optimized for comfort, as well as enhanced side panels with improved passenger interface. Additionally three new color palettes have thoughtfully been created with the customer in mind. A comprehensive survey process helped identify the features and attributes that would be most appreciated by both pilots and customers including USB charging ports, executive folding tables, and folding seats.
The 2016 M600 is listed at $2.853 million.
This story is distributed by Treasure Coast Business, tcbusiness.com, a service for the readers and advertisers of Indian River Magazine. Report news of your business at news@tcbusiness.com.