Tony,
We leave out of Galveston and head to HEVVN intersection (over water of Florida panhandle) then direct Bahamas. This was our last flight.
Kevin

Tom

I agree - a lot depends on the use.

If I was flying a lot from say Georgia to Colorado I might prefer the Malibu or the Mirage and its ability to not guzzle Jet-A when I have to stay relatively low to avoid horrible headwinds. OTOH, if 1/2 my trips were not into the prevailing wind at 20K' I suspect the Meridian/500 would be the better choice. Simply a modern "horses for courses" situation.

RAS

Kevin, do they have a lot of the same systems as the saratoga? A/C, gear, etc??

Landing gear much different. It was a clean sheet design, not based on earlier Pipers at all.

You cannot beat a continental powered Malibu. Flew mine all over the country. Amazing machine. Did 1300nm into the wind all the time. 7 and 8 hour flights no problem. Easy to maintain IMO, any A&P that can work on a cirrus can work on them. Owner group is very helpful. Every issue is ‘known’ at this point too, which is nice.

One other data point, I don’t think anyone has ever perished in a g1000 equipped PA46. They are a very safe airframe.

Most of the engine issues with early ones were people running them wrong. Malibu was first plane designed from the factory to run LOP. The POH actually forbade ROP ops. Didn’t stop people from doing it and burning up the engines.

The Mirage doesn’t reliably run LOP though. A few folks manage but they are rare. It’s a heavier engine too so it cuts useful load a bit.

The early ones have great useful load. I had 1340, I think when the current owner redid panel he got closer to 1400. Watch the Malibu Flyer YouTube channel - that’s my old plane!

I averaged 193kt ground speed over 4 years of flying it. Ability to fly low on headwind days helps overall block times as does long range.

You can squeeze 150 gallons into them with the extended fuel STC and someone to help you fuel.

Me my wife and kids at the time weighed about 350lbs so it was perfect for us.

Cabin is better great in the back and it’s fairly quiet.

Matrix is cool but pressurization is such a game changer. No traffic in mid 20s and you are above the weather 98% is the time.

I am a brand new PA46 owner. It’s my wife’s favorite of all the planes we have owned. 200+ knots on 15 GPH above the weather at FL220 is hard to beat. (My PBaron was 33 GPH LOP for 190 knots... of course it was a tank and you could fly it with your finger tips). The cabin differential is also 5.5. That translated to a 6500 ft cabin altitude at FL220 this weekend..

Mine is an 84 with the 550 conversion and the engine is loafing in cruise. As previously noted, the older models also tend to have better useful load. Mine is 1400lbs.

I will say it’s not as fun to fly as the TBone but if you want to go high, fast and far in pressurized air conditioned comfort, the PA46 is an amazing cross country machine.

Hi Michael,
They are really fantastic planes and a logical and common and significant step up from the Saratoga.
I'm happy to answer any questions and you are welcome to call me.
The http://www.MMOPA.com owners group offers a free membership where you can learn a lot about these planes.
I really like my Mirage, and my family and passengers love it even more. The comfort, range, and capability are tremendous, and once you go pressurized it's hard to go back.
Here are some photos of my 2014 Mirage:

So glad that these planes are still popular.

Are there any other piston airplanes that are currently being made that are seriously capable (cabin class, pressurization, FIKI)? I fear Piper is the only manufacturer left, and all we’ll be left with in 20 years, when looking for all weather planes, will be the relatively few PAs left

They are such pretty airplanes. Very capable it sounds like too. Makes me think it's the next step from my Saratoga SP.

I have an aging client who sent me off to school to learn how to fly and to fly his PA46T (JetProp).

So, far I have about 100 hours in it.

Being a Beech forum, I'd like to tell you it sucks.

I will concede that the cockpit is a bit tight for my 6'1" frame, but at 250 doing 255 true in pressurized comfort, it does not suck.

No, not one bit.

Max,

Beautiful paint scheme and colors. Is that factory?


Kevin

I echo all the great comments about the Malibu. Just sold mine three weeks ago after owning it for two years. 200Kts at FL230 burning 16 gallons in pressurized comfort. Why sell? A good question, but the price was right and I'm itching to step up to a Jetprop which is now in progress. The transition is fairly straight forward given it's the same air-frame and pressurization system. The attached pic is my Malibu just out of the paint shop.

Max,

Beautiful paint scheme and colors. Is that factory?


Kevin

Thanks for the link. I went to mmopa.com but couldn’t find a free membership. Min is $275. Is there a secret handshake or something? Thanks

Best,

Tom

I too was trying to sign up for free membership and they wanted $275 as well.