I think the bonanza was much less bumpy than my mirage. However, the mirage tail has been studied extensively. It can handle 9G’s without falling off. I think that’s reassuring considering the fact that many of us can’t handle 3G’s.

What's also in the A* thread is "never calculate the cost of owning a legacy piston twin".

My wife wont ride in the company King Airs after we bought a short body MU-2 six years ago. When the KA hits turbulence it has a somewhat shrill rattle and you can see the wings deforming and shuddering/oil canning (quite safe, I’m sure, but she hates it). The KA (C90) yaws a lot more too. My new medical assistant had thus far only flown in the Mits for about a 1/2 year and we recently had to take a KA on a work trip. She got sick.
55lbs/sqft and a several hundred pounds of additional aluminum and a short, very stout wing make for a very secure and stable feeling when it gets rough. But as others have said, slowing down helps a lot in any plane. Having a high Va gives a nice sense of security too.

If the Mirage fits you okay then go for the Meridian. It will get you through the low altitude turbulence quicker, will feel more stable and of course the turbine is smoother. Even in the pc12 I get my teeth rattled down low and no one loves that... but it gets up quick and that kind of turbulence is just a few mins on climb/descent in a pressurized turbine. In a piston it's all part of the "adventure". Not everyone loves the adventure tho... (aka, the wife) so go for the turboprop and don't look back.

Yaw damper: On except landing, T/O.

Yaw damper: On except landing, T/O.

Lots of good stuff throughout this thread. I do think the turboprop world is next, just not sure which one. We’ll see what happens through this year with the market and see if we can get used to the bumpiness of the Mirage.

Another idea:

I think back over the years of flying and turbulence and passenger discomfort. I firmly believe most of the discomfort was caused by my spouse/passengers simply not understanding turbulence. As a pilot we know that most, if not all, of the turbulence we encounter is an inconvenience not a safety issue. Passengers generally don’t understand that. They think the wings or tail is going to fall off. Or, that the airplane will become uncontrollable. Simply not true. The problem then becomes us trying to explain this to a spouse and because they live with us, they just don’t believe it.

So, it may be worthwhile to seek out a flight instructor to explain turbulence to a regular passenger/spouse. Have him/her explain that our aircraft are over engineered and can “take it.” Maybe even teach the spouse how to find turbulence reports so they know for themselves where it is that day at AND that it is an inconvenience, not a safety issue.

I've told passengers that turbulence is waves in the air, just like waves on a lake. When you go over them in a boat, you feel it too. The only difference is you can't see turbulence, so it's more of a surprise. But the turbulence isn't going to break the airplane any more than a regular wave is going to break a boat.

Same idea with a car on a washed-out, bumpy gravel road.

My ex-wife really hated turbulence and flying in general, but loved going places. The thing that really helped is I took her out and let her fly the plane up down in turns power up power down. Once she realized that the plane only did what you commanded it to do she only had me to be worried about. . Well, she got tired of me and now I have a girlfriend that loves to fly. The divorce cost me a Pilatus and a light jet, but in the end was worth it.

Agree with Chuck’s comment about YD use. Might also suggest that a digital autopilot may also help to smooth out the turbulence. We upgraded to a GFC600 one year ago following 15years with a KFC250. Seems to be a significant improvement in ride quality in all phases of flight with the 600 usually flight level 200-260 range. (But then maybe I am just trying to rationalize the expense)

RM

Couple of follow ups..

2010 Mirage, so G1000 and GFC700 autopilot. Not an issue as it relates to smoothness.

Meridian has been on the list, but frankly doesn’t have the legs or the weight for fuel trade offs the Mirage has.

It comes down to keeping the mirage or jumping up to TBM or turbine twin. Only time will tell.

The market is still nuts so now or anytime soon is not in the cards.

Good analogy!
[youtube]https://youtu.be/hH3nsTqdAd8[/youtube]

Fly By Wire is the answer. Sensors in the nose tell the auto flight what to do before the tail even starts to move, basically two sets of sensors and the airplane corrects before you even start to feel the bumps.

Other than that, with a high long-loaded airplane, you are going to feel the bumps more often.

My Flight Principles,
1. Safety First, always my leading principle.
2. Comfort, fly the mountains in the AM during summer months.
3. Schedule, yes, perhaps wait a day if conditions are just too rough.

Lastly. Study weather patterns, looks for sheers, mountain waves, back off speed, fly autopilot in TURB mode or pitch mode, request block altitudes to ride Mtn waves. Get the idea?

I don't think that would work unless you added large span lift spoilers. Even if the vertical air movement vector was always in the same plane as the aircraft's vertical axis (it isn't), to eliminate a "bump" you'd have to maintain the same AoA by pitching the airplane rather violently. Also unless all the people were sitting at the airplane's loaded CG, some are going to experience a worse ride than they'd get without your anti-turbulence autopilot.