Just picked up my new to me 1995 piper Malibu mirage. I sold my A36 bonanza in February and have been looking for an airplane since.

First impressions after 6 hours of flying:
FL180 is amazing without oxygen
Speed is the same as the bonanza at 16,000 feet and below
Air conditioning is game changing
Pressurization made 6 hours feel like 3 in the bo
The price of anything is double that on the a36
Fuel flow is 17-22 gph so far at 172-189 tas (depending on settings). In my bo 17gph made 175ktas
The de-ice is amazing (had ice on our second flight today)
The landing is much different and less solid than an a36
The takeoff and landing rolls are much longer than I thought or on the a36
The noise inside is much quieter than my a36 but it sounds less “macho”- if that’s a thing

I love this plane but it’s going to take some time to get used to it! Also, sorry for the sideway pictures. They’re right side up on my phone!

Val

Congratulations. Landing a PA46 is not too hard, but if the front steering linkage is not appropriately adjusted or if the nose tire is under inflated it can become a handful. Recommend keeping the tires spec +5% and checking them every flight until you are confident that you know the leak rate on the tires. Even 5 PSI below spec is a very bad idea. Until the M600, the tires on the PA46 IMHO are a little under sized and under pressured. Probably not so much for the Malibu, but for the heavier Mirage and even heavier Meridian. They did increase the Meridian to the 10 ply nose tire which helps. I would have put higher pressure tires on all of them. They got it right with the M600, but those tubeless high pressure tires are not retrofittable. Good idea to not drop the plane on the nose tire because if it is turned at all, you can get a darting motion. So I land with the yoke back and make sure that I am tracking where I want to track before fully weighting the nose gear.

Hard to beat a PA46. Personal airliner.

Val,

Beautiful airplane!

The ground roll on the Malibu was the biggest difference from a bonanza. The bonanza would fly itself off when the time was appropriate. The Malibu remains on the runway with neutral elevator until 77kts and then pull (hard). Control forces are heavier, but that plane is stable. You can let go of the yoke for a minute and you will think the AP is on.

I felt connected to the motor in the Bonanza, much more visceral on takeoff. Malibu is much quieter and the engine feels removed. My wife and her friend flew in the back and refused headsets.

And did I mention the air conditioning... The Malibu ac gets a bad rap from a lot of people on the MMOPA board. I think it works great, even in Texas heat.

Enjoy the new bird!!
Kevin

I've often thought a 550 Malibu would be my stepdown plane if I gave up the 340, but listening to you guys talk about the ground roll, I'm thinking it wouldn't work on my 2,300' grass strip. Thoughts?

Hey Doug,

I'm in a 1997 Mirage and it will fly @ gross off 2,000 or less. Problem is you are not going anywhere for a while. Back in my early days instructors tried to explain what getting on the step was all about. However IMO there are not may airplanes whose flight characteristics allow a pilot to actually feel a difference in performance before and after getting on the step. During my 20 + years flying crops I find that high wing loading will allow a pilot to fully comprehend what getting on the step is all about.

The Mirage is the first airplane other then a loaded (overloaded) crop-duster were the step is comprehensible , you will know when it happens and until you are on the step you will be flying behind the power curve. Hanging and mushing come to mind.

The Mirage wing will not firm-up until reaching 130 ks or more and after reaching that speed (on step) you can bring it back to 100 kts and it stays solid. Best to rotate @ 75-80 and let the speed build before trying to gain much altitude. Pull it green with stall horn blaring and you're going to be a couple miles downrange before the wing is solid.

Flew out of Sedona, AZ last weekend, just over 5,000 ft runway @ elevation of 4,800. We were @ full gross and used about 3,000 ft of the runway to be comfortable. Early morning departure in mid 70's.

As always: it depends.

Hasn’t it been pretty definitively proven that “the step” is a myth?

https://www.planeandpilotmag.com/articl ... 5MgJaROnDs

Congratulations! Beautiful plane!

Seems that it has some merit according to Dr. Rogers (who has published many excellent technical articles). http://www.nar-associates.com/technical-flying/step/step_wide_screen.pdf

I read that and several other great articles of his a few weeks ago (ok, maybe it was a month ago) when he linked to a different article in another thread. I have a hard time with a lot of the equations because I just wasn't ever into complex math, but I get the conclusions and enjoy the topics.

No. Note that Dr. Rogers' version of the "step" is from below to above Vy at that altitude, which is lower than Vy at sea level. Once above Vy, where we all fly, there is no further "step" available.

Well, there is another step but to use it you have to be making a downwind turn into a dead engine while running oversquare and LOP, else you'll burn your valves.

Hey Val

Congrats on your new bird. I did the same back in July, selling my A36 for a 1988 PA-46-310. Like you, I'm loving the plane. I'm seeing slightly different numbers. Typical numbers seem to be, FL 16 TAS 185 on 14.4 gallons per hour. At 20,000 feet, TAS increases to 200 on the same fuel burn.

As mentioned in previous posts, it does hog the runway on take off. The only downside is it's large wing span and finding a hanger! I find one has to be particularly careful taxing.

John,

He has a lycoming and the fuel burn will be higher than ours because we run LOP. I do question your 14.4 gph. These continentals run consistently at 15.5 gph and vary with temperatures a bit. What TIT are you seeing at 14.4?

Kevin

Hi Kevin

Typically, I'm seeing mid 1550's on 14.4 gallons. If I run it closer to peak 15.4 gallons the %#$@ jump to over 1600. CHTs run from 360 to 330.

I find Savvy Engine analysis very helpful in keeping an eye on all this.

Congrats Kevin. Beautiful PA46

I will add to Chucks comments about landing and tires.

Make sure the rudder trim is neutral. The only time I have get squirrelly is when I forgot to neutralize rudder trim.

Also make sure to hold the nose off as long as possible. I keep pulling back after touchdown and continue to trim back. Helps a lot.

I always forget but try to remind myself to look all the way down the runway. When I do that I have way better landings. You get more visual leverage so to speak. When looking way down the runway little movements look big so it gives you more resolution in your adjustments.

Enjoy the Malibu and all it has to offer.

Mike