Clearly you have not flown an MU2 yet :-) If your wife doesn't like flying, get the highest wing loaded plane you can find.


Re:Meridian - My guess is if your wife flew in it on a real trip she would feel a lot different than a test flight. Especially when you get where you are going 50% faster. I have always found the PA46 to be a fairly stable ride, but the light wing loading can be annoying down low. I flew quite a few people who didn't like flying around in the back of the PA46. Never had one person get sick back there or complain, and generally, the longer the flight, the happier they were by the end.

The ESP requires certification, as it is not as simple as just installing hardware, and that is expensive. Not sure if the servos in the M500 are the same as the Meridian, though. Maybe they are. Cirrus had to upgrade the servos to get ESP in the later models.

Piper did certify the ESP To higher standards than the Cirrus though, in that it will work even in aerobatic attitudes, whereas the Cirrus will say nah, your plane, if the plane goes aerobatic and you try to level it with the blue button or think ESP will right it. The automatic AP engagement in the Piper is also a nice feature. Basically the FMS presses the blue level button for you, if it thinks you are out of control That is interesting to activate. Pretend you are a panicked pilot and start pitching and rolling the plane randomly, or try to keep it in a steep attitude or bank, and you will hear "autopilot engaging" and then hopefully you are smart enough to just let go of the controls and sit back, because you just failed your instrument checkride.

I am sure that you can kill the plane, but it is really hard. I have played with it pretty aggressively and it will definitely right the plane in a hurry.

Here are some pictures. One the stall underspeed protection is kicking in, since I am in a high attitude with too little engine power, the climb but forgot to put power in scenario, yelling at me the whole time. The other, I put the plane into a tightening death spiral, nose down, rolling over, 3000+ fpm descent and accelerating. AP recognizes I am an idiot, tells me to sit down and shut up, and with hands off the controls the AP is beginning to save the aircraft. Just like we would. first levels the wings, and then pitches up firmly but gentle enough not to overstress the airframe.

That is damned intelligent design.

I took my first Meridian flight the other day. Really nice airplane. The cockpit was a little tight for my 6'4" self but not nearly as bad I was led to believe. The one I flew had the seat mod and I had plenty of leg room. Headroom was a little tight but definitely manageable. A mod to the seat cushion and it would be pretty close to my Baron. Getting in/out was not much worse than other turboprops. I really wish someone would design one without the damn pedestal.

The noise was noticeably louder than other turboprops I've flown, but not too bad by piston standards. My Baron is one of the smoother/quieter I've been in, with balanced props and thick windows, sound proofing, etc. and it's definitely much louder than the Meridian. The Pilatus is much quieter and smoother than the Meridian though, headsets not needed in the PC12 but you'd want them in the Meridian. I think it's mostly wind noise. Vmo is 188 kts so you need to come way back on the power to descend, but that's manageable. Seems the best bet for the Meridian would be to get PD as close as you can then go to flight idle and come straight down. Va is ridiculously low so that's a consideration, but the airframe seems sturdy. The low useful load is mostly a function of the 61 kt stall speed rule. Seems strange they didn't get it increased like TBM and Pilatus did by demonstrating crashworthiness. Of course I would never ever fly a plane over gross but I suspect the plane would do just dandy.

I also took my first Meridian flight yesterday. Much smoother, quieter and capable than I was expecting. I took the headset off several times and thought it was pretty quiet, and super smooth. Your passengers could comfortably fly without the headset, but I think they would want access to headsets. It's nothing at all like a piston single.

Most of the complaints I've read online seemed to be non-issues in person. Pulling the throttle all the way back results in a rapid reduction in speed. Throwing everything out resulted in over 4,000 fpm descent (comfortable, except for the extreme deck angle). The speed limitation was less of an issue than I thought. Throttle all the way in and the quiet smooth power rockets you back up.

Getting in was tricky the first couple times (I'm 6' and 225). After I had a clue how to do it I was fine. Seat was very comfortable.

The yoke was very heavy compared to a Bonanza. In fact, I thought the AP was still on and I was overriding the servos. This is not a two finger plane. However, once you get past the high force required, the roll rate was crisp and it seems to fly and handle very much like a Bonanza.

Overall, I was thoroughly impressed. It seems that it would completely transform personal flying.

-Erik

That's a nice write-up Erik.

Once again, proof that most negative comments around pa46s are from folks that haven't spent time in them. They are great airplanes. A literal personal airliner. Amazing how cheap they have gotten. Hard to imagine buying a new cirrus when the same money gets you a pressurized turbine.

The more I read about the Meridian, the more I'm interested.
I'm in contact with Piper Kassel but unfortunately they have no demonstrater in Germany.

Flight Test of the M600 in Flight Intl…

https://www.flightglobal.com/news/articles/flight-test-why-top-of-the-range-m600-is-in-tune-wi-428431/

New M600 video:

[youtube]https://youtu.be/fwDwNkZz7Cs[/youtube]

Looks like an awesome airplane.

That plane excites me more than most of the light turbines in and coming to market. Wish the price came in a little lower. Tricked out that is a lot of money, but does seem to fit in a nice niche between the M500 and SF50 and the much more expensive TBM and PC12.

I am curious how the M600 will affect the market.
It really is a lot closer to the traditional TBM capabilities then the Meridian. Yet, it is a little more then half the cost (I think).

What is it $3.1-3.2m when equipped as a TBM?

I dont see anything special on that plane, Socata got it right 25 years ago with the original TBM 700.
A used TBM 700C2 will have more capability and be faster at less than half the price.
If Daher would bring back a no frill new TBM 700 with G600 It would bankrupt Piper.

A new TBM vs a new M600 is still going to be a million bucks more. Yes you can buy a 12-15 year old plane for less than half price, but you can't really compare used to new. Lots of folks just want to be in a new plane, especially non-pilot types who aren't used to flying 40 year old airplanes. The owner of the PC12NG that I fly for will not fly in anything more than 15 years old. They also want a warranty and the bonus depreciation.