I'm glad it's not just me! I'm 6 4 and 240lbs. I was about that when I started flying at 17 and all through my piston days never had trouble getting in and out of airplanes or being comfortable in them. C152? Lovely airplane, but you rub shoulders. C172, great. Owned a Seneca which had plenty of room.

Cabin class airplanes are generally a misery. And the newer they are the worse they are.
PC12? Easy to get in, hard to get out, very hard. M2? The new angled base to the panel digs into my knees with seat fully aft. PA46s I can manage but tight, later models are better. New King Airs - great but for the access blocking centre pedestal. TBM I found nice.

The most comfortable airplane for pilot access and seating I've ever been in: the Citation Mustang. If I had the money for a new jet I'd almost want to give it to Cessna for a Mustang just because they ALONE thought "hey, maybe some taller guys might want to own and fly this plane. For $x million, why don't we try and make it nice and easy for them to actually get in and out of and sit in the damn thing." Plus the single point inertia reel seatbelt!

There is a seat mod for the Malibu/Mirage the moves the backrest back about 3". I have heard that 6'4" pilots can fit with this mod.

Here is a picture. Normally the bracket for the seat back goes straight up, so you can see the amount it is moved back.

i was very close the other day to joining a partnership in an 88 malibu, but just couldnt fit...i think its a beautiful plane though. Who makes the seat mod? Do the "pyramid" pieces come out from between the seats? how does the modification affect the seat behind the pilot?

i am 6'4" and 225 - tall torso

There are several iterations of the PA46 seats. Basically newer planes have more room with the most room being in late 2013 onward planes. You could get an extra inch or two in the later model Mirages by reversing the stops. The factory started doing that out of the factory around 2011. Sometime around 2012 they started extending the rear seat brackets similar to the aftermarket seat mods in the Meridian, the piston later followed suit. Later models around 2012 have the option of folding down all the seats, so with the rear facing and copilot seats folded flat even the roundest of pilots could get in. Around late 2012 the cockpit was widened by a couple of inches by reworking the side panels, and the head cutouts are more prominent. 2014 they again reworked the seats and late 2015 reworked the armrests.

At 6'1 165, you would have no problem with any of the later model PA46's. I am 6'2 and 200 lbs, and actually pull my seat up 1-2 notches to comfortable reach the rudder pedals and yoke since the farthest setting is too far back. There is a technique to get into a PA46, works on any of these aircraft called the Malibu wiggle. Once you figure it out, getting in is a non-issue. I have seen some pretty big dudes at the Mailbu conventions.

Other tricks, the seats are reclinable which can help with headroom, they also adjust up and down, which some Malibu pilots don't even know about. I have seen some people complaining about headroom, not realizing that their seat is actually lifted up. Probably from the last person flying or often the maintenance guys that lift them to get more working room under the seat. That knob is a little round unmarked knob under the seat that controls the seat height. It is very hard to see, you really have to know it is there, and I am not sure that it is even mentioned in the POH.

The TBM has a little more headroom, but I found the legroom, hip room and shoulder room a little better in the new PA46's. The PA46 cockpit at 50 inches is almost 3 inches wider than the TBM at 47.6 inches and has a narrower pedestal than the TBM 900. The PA46 also doesn't have that little ladder by the left leg in the aircraft with the additional door. Doesn't sound like much, but when you are talking tight spaces, 2-3 inches makes a difference.

I'm VERY happy with the room in the SR. Well, at least with the 4 seat places. I miss my big baggage door in the 35. And I wouldn't make a peep if Tyler were near by in his TwinBo. But there's no shoulder rubbing.

I owned a A36 for 4 years, great airplane! Then went to a Piper Mirage and then a Jetprop.
I am 6'1" and 250lbs...There is a technique for getting in the Pilots seat of the Malibu, but it takes about as much effort as sliding across the co pilots seat in a Bonanza. There is no comparison between the Bonanza and the PA46, pressurization is the game changer. And when you go Jetprop, Flight Level 270, 265 kts TAS, 33 gallons per hour --No comparison to the piston Malibu.

Jimmy Elza kindly gave me a tour of his PA-46 in Knoxville last fall. While I could get into the seat, I couldn't apply the aileron once seated - there was just no way to move the yoke around with my legs in the way. I'm 6'3", 215 lbs.

- Martin

For the A* operators out there how are they in terms of comfort up front?

Flew with a friend in his Aerostar and was comfortable except for slightly not enough headroom in the copilot seat with my A20s on (he doesn’t have the optional adjustable one). If I had my CQ-1 headset that I bought to fly my Seneca, probably would have been fine but brushing the ceiling window. 6’4” and 280.

Seneca I just fit in with the seats all the way back and down, but laterally it’s great. Mooney is snug for my legs but height wise perfect (I can even reach the idiotic fuel selector without moving the seat). 172s you brush shoulders, 152s I can fit in some and can’t push the rudders in others because of where the panel hits.