Piper Aircraft has a chock-full exhibit this year at Sun ‘n Fun, in Lakeland, Florida, showcasing their new flagship model, the M600, for the first time. The $2.85-million airplane features a new clean-sheet-design wing and Garmin G3000 touchscreen avionics. It’s powered by a Pratt & Whitney PT6A-42A 600-shp engine, and cruises at up to 274 knots. But according to Piper CEO Simon Caldecott, the M6 debut is just the icing on the cake for the company: “We have quite a bit of good news,” he said. The company also has landed a deal with the University of North Dakota to provide more than 100 airplanes for their flight-training program, including both Archer TX and Seminoles. All the airplanes will be equipped with Garmin G1000 avionics, with deliveries to start in the fourth quarter.
The M600 is on track to start deliveries in the third quarter of this year, Caldecott said, and he expects the airplane will deliver better-than-expected performance. “We have three aircraft in flight test,” he said. “Our range goal was 1200 nm, we will deliver 1441 nm. Our cruise-speed goal was 260 knots, and we have demonstrated 274 knots.” Caldecott also said the company has reduced its prices on several models — the M500 is now available for $1.99 million, with an upgraded cabin as standard, and an optional five-blade Hartzell prop; the Matrix price has dropped by $40,000 to $899,000; and the Seneca 5 is reduced $50,000 to a base price of $979,000. An M500 with the five-blade prop is on display at the Piper exhibit at Sun ‘n Fun, along with an M350, a Seneca Twin and an Archer.
