Piper med overraskelse

Piper Launches New M600 and M350 Models by Charles Alcock  - April 13, 2015, 1:00 PM Piper's new M600 aircraft is due to complete certification in the fourth quarter of 2015. (Photo: Jim Barrett Photography) Piper Aircraft today launched new M600 and M350 members of its M-Class family of aircraft. During an event at its Vero Beach, Florida headquarters the company also introduced a new Special Edition version of the Meridian M500 model that it back in  January. Powered by a Pratt & Whitney Canada PT6A-42A turboprop (flat-rated to 600 shp), the M600 will offer a maximum cruise speed of 260 ktas and a full payload range of 1,000 nm. Piper expects to complete certification in this year's fourth quarter. The aircraft has a max payload of 1,200 pounds and a max takeoff weight of 6,000 pounds. The standard equipped price for the M600 is $2.825 million. It will feature a Garmin G3000 avionics suite with two 12-inch primary flight displays and a multifunction display, plus dual digital touchscreen GTC 570 controls and an Aspen EFD1000 standby display. The new Special Edition version of the M500 offers options for upgraded cabin and cockpit interiors. These include new leather seats, improved side panels and avionics panel trim. Like the existing Mirage model, the M350 is a piston single powered by a 350-shp Lycoming TIO-540-AE2Aengine. The new aircraft is set to complete certification imminently and will come at a standard price of $1.155 million. It features the Garmin G1000 cockpit, but with numerous safety enhancements, including a hypoxia-recognition system that makes the aircraft descend automatically if there is no pilot interaction with the displays and autopilot when the cabin altitude is higher than 14,900 feet. There is also a pulse oximeter that measures the pilot’s blood oxygen level and heart rate, as well as checks for p otentially dangerous levels of carbon dioxide in the cockpit. Other new features integrated with the M350’s G1000 avionics suite include a digital cabin pressurization control system and a fuel quantity system that replaces resistive float type senders with capacitive fuel quantity senders. The new cockpit also has placard lighting that can be controlled via switches on the instrument  panel.