Piper has introduced its top-tier entry in the high-performance single world with the unveiling of the M700 Fury on Feb. 6. The Florida planemaker says the Fury cruises at 300 knots at up to 30,000 feet and features a HALO Safety System that includes Garmin Autoland. Base price is $4.1 million, but there are plenty of options to push that up substantially. The M700 replaces the M600 and offers some performance improvements without going over the 6,000-pound threshold for operation by those who fly under BasicMed.
The 700 stands for the horsepower rating of the PT6A-52 that powers the refreshed airframe, which comes in six interior finishes. It takes off 24% shorter and climbs at 2048 fpm, 32% faster than an M600 and its 600-horsepower engine, but it also lands about 26% shorter. “The M700 Fury is a beautifully efficient, cross-country thoroughbred that gives our customers a performance-based flight experience with economics never seen before,” said Piper Aircraft’s president and CEO, John Calcagno. Owner-flown and corporate markets are both in Piper’s sights for the M700. U.S. certification is planned for later this year.
If somehow magically I won the lotto … I’d be in Vero Beach the next morning 🙂
Can I get two of them to go?
Sure, but then you’d be flying a Twin … whichever one you flew.
Certification later this year? I will believe it when it happens. Real time line, late 2025.
So if you’re a billionaire, you have lots of options for new aircraft. But if you’re a mere millionaire, your option is to build from a kit. Middle, and upper-class, stick to renting once a month.
Aviation, what hath thou wrought?
How much is PC12 I wonder…
The TBM 960 averages $4.8m depending on options and is 30 knots faster at max cruise (has a 850 shp PT6). Range and payload are comparable however. That said, that extra 30 knots can punch a significant hole westbound into jet stream headwinds. Stepping up to the cabin class (and 2 more seats) PC-12 NGX which has a high speed cruise of 290kts with competing range will set you back $5.1M. It can also operate from soft fields like the M600 (I assume same will go for the 700). The TBM cannot.
If I had $4-$5 million burning in my pocket in this market price range and for my missions, I’d probably choose the PC-12 NGX first with the TBM second. Also, I’m fond of any avionics that are not the run-of-the-mill Garmin G-series glass. Pilatus uses the Honeywell Epic 2.0 cockpit.
Ah, decisions, decisions. Let’s buy one of each!
A million here, a million there…pretty soon we’ll be talking real money.
–With apologies to the late Sen. Dirksen
Comparing the M700, TBM, and Pilatus is not apples to apples. Each fits a unique mission. The Piper is mostly owner flown, the TBM probably 50/50 owner vs professional, the Pilatus mostly professional. The maintenance is much more intense (expensive) on the TBM and Pilatus. Interior space is close on the TBM and M700, much bigger on the Pilatus. The Pilatus requires a much bigger hangar. Bottom line, it comes down to which best fits one’s mission. At that level purchase price is just the tip of the iceberg.
If you aren’t an average body shape, you might lose choices just sitting in them. I had a hard time getting into the TBM seat. I didn’t like the Piper build quality.
IIRC, at the time I looked (not that I could buy) the Pilatus was over double the others. Piper has gotten awful proud of themselves.
The TBM owners seemed much happier than the Piper owners. By far.
In reality, if I win a lottery, I think I’d get a warbird.
A PC-12 ngx is $6.7m according to the aircraft bluebook.
If you had $4-$5M in your pocked you wouldn’t get the TBM or the PC12. TBM is now touching $6M and PC12 is now $7M. Run of the mill Garmin? Seriously? The G3000 is heads and shoulders above Honeywell. In fact if PC12/24 had G3000/5000 they’d sell more.
Congratulations to Piper. The M700 is moving into TBM 9xx territory in price, so it’s time for a biannual shoot out. I nominate March 1 and September 1 of every year to allow time for a refresh between competitions. My TBM instructor has said in about every dimension from crash survivability, dependability, operation cost, etc that a TBM TP is the better bird. I have no Piper TP time. First complaint for comparison: I don’t like that I have to advance the TBM throttle holding it between my thumb and index on take off roll to avoid the risk of over stressing the engine by being ham fisted. Wish it had an auto throttle of sorts. Is it the same with a Piper TP ? So there’s a first complaint and basis for comparison.
That’s a tough first world problem.
It really is. Other types of problems are just too tedious.
The M600 can have auto throttle so I’m guessing it will be standard on the M700. It was always available with the HALO safe return system but now it can be used in all flight regimes.
In the video attached throttle over-torque protection for the most recent versions of the auto throttle is endorsed, but not with a lot of detail. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i7jc4aWS0XU
Both the TBM 940/960 M600 have auto throttle and torque protection, you can’t manually OT them.
BasicMed requires at or below 18,000 feet, sadly. However, the 250kias BasicMed limit still is just fine for a 300 ktas airplane at 30k feet.
I remember my excitement at the introduction of the 310hp Piper Malibu in 1984 at $250K. It is amazing after 4 decades that this airframe has evolved to support blazing turboprop performance and commands a $4M+ price.
I agree with jsisk above. I owned a 1987 Malibu for 21 years and it is amazing it has evolved into this. The late Jim Griswold, the lead designer of the original Malibu, must be looking down with pride and amazement at his creation.
Late 2024 certification is possible as Piper has two fully conforming test aircraft flying regularly. N701PX and N702PX.
Staying below 6000 lbs to maintain the ability to fly on BasicMed seems a little bit of a stretch since I believe you must fly below 18000 feet for basic med.
Second comment not covered in the article, has Piper got rid of the spar which created some difficulty for taller people.
Don’t think so. The cancelled PiperJet did that, but moving the spar below the cabin changed the whole airframe.
At 6′ 4″, weighing 250, I couldn’t get into a Malibu pilot seat
At 6’3” 210 I got into the Piper seat easily, but the acrobatics to get into the TBM turned me off. I actually had a guy shorter than I who couldn’t fit in a DA40 because his thighs were too long.
Ergonomics must be more complicated than aeronautics.
One can find and purchase a very nice, relatively low time, previously owned King Air for $4 million.
True. Completely different mission pros and cons. They will not compete for marketshare.
To Marc’s post, I would say that being ham-fisted on advancing power is not an issue in the TBM (although, you do point out the best way to hold its throttle–between thumb & index finger). During ground power-runs, we often slam the throttle to its limit, doing no damage to the PT-6 at all. Furthermore, in all models except the 850. There is a torque limiter to prevent damage by over-torquing. Even in the 850, that torque limiter is available on the ground, just not in the air once it is de-selected (long story). Lastly, the TBM940 and TBM960 DO have an excellent autothrottle. The 960 even goes one step further with its FADEC. On the TBM940, if you elect to use the AT for t/o, it will set the power at 100%, no matter if you are over or under 100%. On the TBM960, you are welcome to fire-wall the throttle for t/o (even without the AT armed), and the FADEC will limit you to the appropriate power setting (usually 100%). And, yes, in about every dimension from crash survivability, dependability, operation cost, etc. a TBM TP is the better bird. However, kudos to Piper for continuing to innovate and (hopefully) bringing a more powerful and better performing turboprop to the market.
Very helpful information, thank you. We are operating some of the older, pre-AT airframes with some plans to upgrade in the near future. I’m setting out to learn the story on the 850 to which you allude. It’s seems familiar but I don’t recall the details.
And then there’s the Epic E1000 GX. 333 kts, 34,000 ft, $4.5 mil.