That's not the comparison. I think we're talking about which turbine/avionics to buy. Avionics bring a brand new dilemma to the table.

Ignoring the issue is like showing potential home buyers past year's resale data during the ribbon cutting ceremony for the new highway next door.

Why is "borrowing" assumed? We don't know how much money the OP has......

Also, interest rates are really low. Go ahead and buy your last airplane first. It costs a huge amount of money to do a loan. Cheaper to do 1 loan than 2. TBM could last years. Meridien will leave you longing for a TBM.

Buy your last airplane first. It's cheaper.

Avionics is my number 1 motivating factor in buying an airplane. This is true for the manufacturers and therefore should be true for you.

I misunderstood you.

That said, early meridians will be fine. Nothing to compete with them near $750k.

I agree that steam gauge 850s will (and do) suffer impressively due to avionics.

So are you happy with the Honeywell avionics in the PC12 after you've been flying it a while?

That's not really the right question to ask as I have no choice. There is no G1000 option for the PC12.

Am I happy with the APEX? Yes. Could it be as good as the G1000? Yes with a software upgrade which they are working on. Is it as good as Garmin? No

Pilatus seems committed to staying with Honeywell and working on the bugs.

One thing to keep in mind as you move up through airplanes....... We all consider the PC12 an "owner flown" airplane because we all fly. Most folks that own PC12's have a pilot or 2 and don't care how comfortable he is or if he has XM radio etc. Hell, most PC12 owners don't know what "avionics" is. There are no creature comforts for the pilot in the PC12. It's all about the backseat passengers. So my complaints regarding the APEX are looking at it through the eyes of an owner pilot. I want more creature comforts and whiz bang gizmos. The APEX is very sterile. If the APEX just had XM radio it would improve my opinion of it a lot.

Why is "borrowing" assumed? We don't know how much money the OP has......

Also, interest rates are really low. Go ahead and buy your last airplane first. It costs a huge amount of money to do a loan. Cheaper to do 1 loan than 2. TBM could last years. Meridien will leave you longing for a TBM.

Buy your last airplane first. It's cheaper.

Tim,

What's the range on your Aerostar?

Not as much as the PC12
I have the bigger less efficient engines so I get the following no wind with one hour reserve:
950NM at 65% Power
1050NM at 55% Power
1250NM at 45% Power.

The Aerostars with the high compression engines do about 15% to 20% better.

Tim

Back to the Meridian...

The Meridian is a fine airplane. Cabin is fantastic. Speed is quite impressive and creature comforts, etc are very, very nice. If your mission is (3), reasonable luggage, and moderate range, it is very difficult to beat. If you need more people, lots of bags or longer range, you need to be looking at TBM or greater.

The biggest problem I have with the Meridian (new) is the high depreciation. You're going to lose ~15% / yr on this $2M+ asset. Knowing that you are losing at least $25K / mo on any asset is a very hard pill to swallow, at least for me.

That being said, if you can swallow it, the flight levels, a/c, pressurization, cruise speed, airstair door and roomy cabin make this airplane very attractive. I don't think it would be the airplane for me but the OP sounds like he may have a decent fit here.

As Don said, getting back to the Meridian.

It appears from the postings that I am the only one replying that actually is currently flying one right now. As I said, I have a 2001 model (which isn't depreciating at 25k a month) and have new avionics in it, dual G500s, etc, etc (and XM radio too Jason).

The airplane is "almost" perfect for me. The two areas that it falls down, for me, are range and payload. I get the range upgrade with the TBM, but not the payload (you still have to pack light). I couldn't get into the earliest TBM for what I have in my 2001 Meridian, fully upgraded, so it wasn't an comparison I could make. Would I upgrade out of my Meridian for a TBM, probably not. It is still a 4-5 person airplane, limited luggage, and considered a smaller airplane (not trying to start a flame war here, but let's be realistic). I also wouldn't consider an eclipse, or probably a mustang, for the very same reason. That is my view, and how I look at it.

I would consider, and am actually looking at (as we speak in PHX), a PC-12. I agree the NG stuff is really nice, and it is more of a bizjet feel, but not in my price range today. So, I may sell my Meridian, or I may decide that the price to step up to carry more people and luggage, and have range, isn't worth it. I am still working on the calculus. If I could dry lease a PC-12 in SoCal, it would make it much easier to justify (not going to really do that with a TBM or PA46).

In the end, the Meridian is a fine machine, that goes pretty fast, and is pretty darned reliable. I like the Meridian over the Jetprop conversion because the airframe, design, etc is more 2000 based than the conversions (digital engine instruments, etc). The certification on the Meridian was more intense than the STC on the Jetprop (my redline is 188knots, which means the plane was certified to a certain gust factor/loading at that speed, compared to the yellow arc on the malibu). I say that with the caveat that I made an offer on a Jetprop immediately before I ended up getting the Meridian, it was a dollars and sense decision. They are both fine machines.

If you mission is 800nm or less, you aren't going to be carrying more than 3 passengers, and if you go longer you are okay stopping for fuel, than it is hard to go wrong with an earlier meridian, because you can get them with the Garmin stacks for under 900k. If you step up to a newer bird in the 1.1-1.3 range, then a TBM would be something I would seriously look at (even if it is older). A new meridian would never fly for me, I would much rather fly a 10 year old airframe.

Keep in mind that the Meridian requires a dual G500 install because of the fact that the autopilot requires dual adahrs inputs to function. The TBM and PC-12 do not have this requirement, making a partial panel upgrade much more doable. And to answer the question, the meggitt stuff doesn't even come close to the G500.

-jason

Thanks Jason. Vast majority of trips would be with 3 maybe 4 passengers about 500nm.

That's a perfect mission for a TN36

The Meridien is no bigger inside than a Bonanza so what's the point?

I certainly wouldn't say that. I don't have the exact dimensions handy but the Meridian cabin and luggage area are quite a bit roomier than an A36. I'm sure someone will post actual specs.

The G36 does a pretty good job. Flew home last week with a 40 knot headwind. That was painful. We are going to be doing a lot more night flying. Probably more chance of ice in winter. I would like the reliability of a turbine, known ice, pressurization. Just trying to figure out what I can actually afford. I lke the king air 90. Slower, two big expensive engines to worry about and alot more fuel. I like the redundancy of the twin......I just don't know if its necesssary with a turbine. Pilatus would be awesome. For most trips probably overkill. And I think acquisition costs to high.

I love the TNG36. I probably would have made this move sooner but I just am very happy with the G1000.