Piaggio avanti

There was an Eclipse fatal in South Africa. Being investigated with thoughts of hypoxia or pilot incapacitation. Guy was only 57, a little young for incapacitation, but possible.

http://www.ainonline.com/aviation-news/business-aviation/2015-12-10/first-fatal-accident-eclipse-bizjet-reported

Low numbers, too little to have statistical power, but similar number of Piper Matrix's built as EA50's, no US fatals, more than twice as many G1000 Mirage and Meridians built, no fatals. They are all safe aircraft though. I would worry less about the plane than the pilot.

Steve
They are currently in production and you can buy one with custom paint for less than a Piper M600, also is a great airplane.

I guess sometime in the next year they will start building the new 700 model.

They just started flying their first of 3 test airplanes for the new 700

Andy, I stated lively production, if they can not pump out and sell a hefty number of these I see little chance of their success. It would make a great Bonanza replacement, about the same size. If it were my money (no I don't have enough) I would be leaning toward a Cessna CJ, Mustang or M2, all substantially more airplane for the dollar and one that is likely to be supported better.

I think when I looked at the Meridian last, it didn't need a gear overhaul at a certain interval like the other turboprops and jets. It's been a while since I looked at it but I believe the meridian was made more like a ga airplane than a corporate jet when it comes to routine Maintanence which makes it much cheaper to maintain than other t props.

Agree with Jason. If you want a used light jet the only ones to consider are a Mustang or Phenom 100.

Currently there are 34 Mustangs for sale and 31 Phenoms. Good portion of those on engine and maintenance programs...hard to believe you couldn't get a good deal with that much selection for sale. A big plus of Cessna is the maintenance network all though Embraer is laser focused on developing and expanding their support network. Embraer has made significant improvements.

With that said if I was in your shoes I'd buy a Meridian and reasses how it works in a few years. The market seems to be stable for ones with the gross weight increase...2003-2004+ model year if I recall correctly. I don't think you'd lose that much money on a used one if you had to get out in a year or two. Get one with a G500 retrofit or later G1000 birds. I'd avoid the Avidyne equipped ones...that plane is a unicorn to me until a 3rd party like JPI or EI releases STC solution to free you from digital engine displays wrapped up in the Avidyne suite. I'm also fairly certain that Avidyne doesn't even support that system anymore...could be wrong.

I love Piper. Great company, great people. I had my eyes set on a used Seneca when I was shopping for a twin. I really wanted to represent the home team, unfortunately I couldn't find a good example of a used Seneca within my budget so that's how I ended up with a 310R.

You are wrong about Avidyne supporting the Meridian. I just renewed my maintenance on the Avidyne for 3 years at just over $1AMU per year. I don't get why you feel you need the digital engine displays with a separate manufacturer. Garmin has them in theirs. What's your issue there?

Lack of innovation for a discontinued product...stuck in the past. The engine displays keep you locked in that era.

Garmin just breathed new life into the G1000 product line with the NXI upgrade.

Lack of innovation for a discontinued product...stuck in the past. The engine displays keep you locked in that era.

Garmin just breathed new life into the G1000 product line with the NXI upgrade.

Nothing...you're missing the point. At present date if an Meridian owner wanted to bail on the Avidyne suite there is only one option...the G950 from Cutter at $200k (that's what google search article said it cost). Avidyne offers you nothing to update their 10 year old glass panel. Meggit owners could at least jump to the G500 with nearly identical cability as the G950 for a lot less money.

Buying a G500 equipped plane offers you flexibility if/when Garmin improves that product or other competitors step into this space. Buying a G1000 equipped plane will likely have a pathway to the G1000 NXI. The G1000 NXI looks badass.

I certainly mean no disrespect. I'm just pointing out considerations that would weigh on me if I was shopping for a Meridian.

From Cutter
"Up until now, owners of older model Piper Meridians had few options for upgrading their flight deck to more modern standards. Meggitt-equipped Piper Meridians could install the Garmin G600 PFD/MFD retrofit...Avidyne-equipped Piper Meridians had really no option for retrofit packages as the G600 could not be used as it did not integrate the engine and systems as part of its interface. The only option was to wait for an upgrade directly from Avidyne… which has not gone beyond the concept stage for nearly two years. As a result, owners of pre-2009 Piper Meridian models seemed to be stuck… UNTIL NOW."

Even if you update to the dual G500 setup you're stuck with the Meggit stuff for the turbine instruments, which is more of a limitation than the Avidyne stuff probably. I wouldn't worry about that too much, any fully integrated system you're going to be stuck with somewhat, including G1000.

I don't think I am missing the point. I was responding to your comment that you would avoid Avidyne due to the integrated engine monitoring system and would want it replace with a JPI or something:

"I'd avoid the Avidyne equipped ones...that plane is a unicorn to me until a 3rd party like JPI or EI releases STC solution to free you from digital engine displays wrapped up in the Avidyne suite. I'm also fairly certain that Avidyne doesn't even support that system anymore...could be wrong. "

Talking about the entire avionics suite is a different conversation and one where there are many, many frustrated G1000 Meridian owners on MMOPA that can't upgrade their G1000 because Piper has no upgrade path.

Enjoying this pre-Avidyne 2005 Meridian with dual WAAS GTN-750's and ADS-B.
So far a terrific experience and meets 90% of my needs perfectly.

Beautiful panel! Does this still use the Meggitt DAU or a different one?

Still using the Meggitt DAU in this set up Greg.
So far....no exceedence events!, and no squawks in 120 hrs of ownership.