Anyone on here ever own a Malibu with the 550 conversion? Searching the forum yields lots of right seat opinions. Curious about the following from someone who has had one:

- fuel burns at altitude
- reliability of the 550 in that install (i know about issues with original engine and with the Lycomings that came later)
- cabin comfort on long flights (i am 6' tall)
- 4 blade prop - does it pick you up any useful load? I understand slight performance gains
- have heard the plane is a dog in icing conditions. this is mostly second hand, curious to hear from someone who has flown in icing with it.
- ignoring the fact that a TAT Bonanza is more performance for less money and all those sorts of arguments, what is the biggest negatives on the type? Maintenance? Seems to be on par with a pBaron or other pressurized, system heavy plane.

talk with

http://www.meadaircraft.com/about/meet_kevin.html

Anthony

you might poke around Kevin's blog a bit:

http://meadaircraft.wordpress.com/

He is truly the guru of Malibu maintenance. That said, I recall seeing recently that he was semi-retiring, his personal Malibu was for sale, and he was selling his shop.

Have you poked around MMOPA.org?

RAS

I wish I could offer more on other questions, but this is the only one I feel I can answer at all.
The Malibu has a pretty comfortable cabin once you get in. I rode right seat several times a number of years ago and felt a bit contorted getting in and out. I'm 6'1" so about the same there. At that time I was heavier and probably weighed around 220-225 and didn't like to fold up very well. Not quite so bad these days.

I flew a -520 Malibu for two years.

As noted, MMOPA is a terrific resource. Well worth the $250, though a 1 week read only trial is available for free. Email webmaster if you want that.

As noted, Kevin Mead, is a well known PA46 mechanic and all around great guy. He sold his shop about 18 months ago to long-time #2 Tony Beauchamp who has continued to run it under the name Midwest Malibu. Kevin consults now, does pre-buys etc. He's not retired, just not running a shop. Chad Menne/Malibu Aerospace is the other well-known PA46-exclusive specialist although there are many other shops that do a lot of PA46 work.

Cabin comfort is a frequent knock against the Malibu, but I (6'3/190) had no complaints. It takes some contortions to get in the seat, but I had no problems once there.

The 550 engine is well regarded. It's installed as a 310 hp engine but is essentially 350. The -520 works great as well. Only teething problems were people who didn't understand LOP burning things up. Nothing in the world beats a continental Malibu for efficiency. FL250, 12 GPH, 190 KTAS and 140 gals fuel can go a looooooooooooooooong way. Cruise speeds are pretty well going to match a TAT 36 for a given altitude. I tended to stay in the teens unless it was a particularly long trip. But 200-210 KTAS should be doable in the FL's routinely with a 550.

Fuel burns are
55% - 12 GPH
65% - 14 GPH
75% - 16 GPH.
Can go a little higher with the 550 if you like.

The cabin is the best thing about the plane for pax. It's like a limo. Plenty of legroom between the club. The airstair is very nice. Big cargo space behind the rear seats and between engine and panel.

The plane is FIKI but that's not it's strong suit. minimum icing speed is 130 KIAS which doesn't give a great rate of climb. I know a guy who flys a Mirage all over Utah and the mountain west - he has no complaints, but you can only do so much with 6 cylinders. The system works fine for enroute/descent/approach, but not sure I'd wanna climb through a lot of ice.

Maintenance is pricey, mostly because it just has a lot of stuff to break. Two big vacuum pumps, two alternators, heated stall warning switch, etc. THe windshield is the big issue though. THe original Malibu hot plates are unsupportable and the STC glass replacement is $20K + $10K labor to install.