I TURBINE PILOT I

The Piper Meridian

Still the same,

yet better than ever

BY ANDREW GALLAGHER

Piper has fine-tuned itsflagship product over the

past decade, and while it

is still the same aircraft at heart,

all the little changes have made

a difference-in a very good way.

When considering the rela­tively small market segment ofsingle-engine, pressurized tur­boprops, the Piper Meridian isstill the youngest in terms oftime in production. Despite itsshort tenure, the Meridian hasmanaged to become one of themost popular airframes amongowner-flown turbine aircraft.

It really is no surprise why: TheMeridian remains unmatched

in initial acquisition and directoperating costs for the perfor­mance and utility it offers.

Although the Meridian hasbeen in production fewer than12years, it is far from the newkid on the block. The airframe is

a derivative of the venerable pis­ton-engine PA-46 Malibu andMalibu Mirage line, which hasbeen in production since 1983.The engine in the Meridian isthe Pratt & Whitney CanadaPT6A-42A-a distinguishedmember of the PT6A familythat has been the engine seriesof choice in more than 100 dif­ferent aircraft models all over

the globe.

PHOTOGRAPHY BY MIKE FIZER

AND CHRIS ROSE

'III

T-IO I AOPA PILOT July 2012

DURING THE MID-1990S. Piperfound strong interest in apotential turboprop variant ofthe company's Malibu Mirage.In fact, many industry profes­sionals believed it was longoverdue, so in 1997,the companyannounced it would developsuch a turboprop. Thus, thePA-46-500TP Malibu Meridianwas born.

Regular production of theMeridian began in 1999, andthe first deliveries of the air­

craft began in late 2000. Thefirst Meridians carried a base

price of $1,375,000. The newmodel was received well by themarket, and between December2000 and December 2001,

Piper pushed out nearly 100Meridians, almost all of whichwere already spoken for by cus­tomers on the company's largebacklog of orders.

IT DOES NOT TAKE A PIPER

expert to see the Meridianshares similarities with its

piston-powered sibling, theMirage. Both utilize a commonfuselage with a pressurized, six­place cabin. Dimension-wise,the two aircraft are not all thatdifferent. Both stand 11.3feet

tall at the tallest point, the topof the vertical stabilizer. Spinnerto tail, the Meridian is a bit morethan eight inches longer thanthe Mirage because of the lon­ger turbine engine. Each has awingspan of 43 feet, althoughthe Meridian wing is uniquefrom the other PA-46 variants,mainly to handle the heavierweight and carry more fuel forthe thirstier PT6A. Most agreethat the Meridian has a largerramp presence. Some attributethis to the nearly seven-foot­diameter, four-blade Hartz~1lprop; others notice the largePT6Aexhaust stacks protrudingfrom both sides of the cowl­

ing; some even notice the wingshape is different and larger

than that of the Mirage. Thesesubtle yet clearly distinguish­able differences make it evidentthe Meridian is a different ani­

mal altogether.

DURING THE PAST DECADE. theairframe of the Meridian has

remained largely unchanged.Nevertheless, a number ofimprovements have occurred.A noteworthy change occurredin mid-2003 with the incorpo­ration of a modification that

raised the maximum grossweight from 4,850 pounds to5,092pounds. Omitting the spe­cific engineering details, thisincrease was mainly achievedby incorporating additionalstructural support for the land­ing gear and part of the wing,and placing vortex generatorson the wings. The VGs wereadded to the top side of thewing, just aft of the pneumaticboots. Incidentally, the presenceof vortex generators is the eas­ilyidentifiable trait of Meridians

with the higher gross weight.For a period of time, Pipermade a retrofit kit available to

owners of lower-gross-weightMeridians, which is why thereare 2001- and 2002-year modelaircraft flying around with the5,092-pound gross weight, butthis kit is no longer available.

Anyone who has ownedan aircraft with a pressurizedcabin knows pressurizationsystems can require frequentmaintenance. Over the years,though, the Meridian's envi­ronmental control system (ECS)has proven highly reliable.However, there have been afew changes to enhance certaincomponents of the system. Forexample, in early 2008, a mod­ification was made to the ECS

air ducting that allowed for amore consistent airflow into the

pressure vessel, which in turneliminated erratic cabin altitude

rate changes. Another update inlate 2009 involved replacing thevalve motor for the mass flow

controller with a new model

that was less prone to failure.This flaw was a common issueof Meridians manufactured

from 2001 through 2009, andwhen the valve motor did fail,the pilot would lose the abilityto control the cabin temperature(the valve regulates the flowof ambient air into the cabin).Fortunately for owners of theolder Meridians, upgrades tothe ECS system are available tothese aircraft via service kits.

Starting with early 2007models, Piper began deliver­ing Meridians without stormwindows on the left cockpitside window, and while this

may seem like a minor change,it caused a bit of a stir amongcurrent and potential ownersas many of them really likedthat little window. Owners of

"old-style-window" aircraftare required to either inspectthe storm window for cracks

every 50 hours or replace theentire window with the new,

VORTEX

GENERATORS atopthe wing showcase aMeridian'sS,092-poundMTOW(left). Inside,there's no doubt aboutwhich cockpit a modelhas. Below,a lS-inchMFDand two PFDsshout GarminG1000.The GFC700 autopilotis the most capable ofany ever installed.

www.aopa.org/pilot AOPA PILOT I T-l1

SPEC SHEET~

storm-windowless version,

which terminates the recurring

inspection.

Other small changes

through the years includecabin interior enhancements.

Interior leathers have greatly

improved in quality and feel.

The support cables for the

cabin entry door have always

been problematic for PA-46

aircraft, so in late 2008, Pipermade the cables more robust.

However, some owners pre­

ferred previous models whose

systems had smaller-diametercables that retracted into the

door and a viscous damper to

slowly drop the lower half ofthe door rather than let it free­

fall. For 2012 models, there are

several interior changes: flatfold-down seatbacks for the

aft-facing seats and co-pilot

seat for easier cockpit access,

redesigned cockpit side panels

1-12 I AOPA PILOT July2012

STANDARD EQUIPPED LIST PRICE

(GARMIN G1000): $2.13 MILLION

SPECIFICATIONS

Powerplant 1 Pratt & Whitney CanadaPT6A-42A

Horsepower 1 Flat-rated at 500 shp

Recommended TBO 1 3,600 hr

Recommended HSI 1 1,800 hr

Length 1 29 ft 7 In

!;;!g!gh!_1 ]] ft 4Jn .Wingspan 1 43 ftWing area I 183 sq ft

Wing loading @ 1 5,092 Ib 27.8 Ib/sq ft

Power loading I 10.2 Ib/shp

Seats 1 6Cabin length 1 12 ft 4 in

Cabin width 14ft 2 in

Cabin height 13ft 11 in

Standard empty weight I 3,380 Ib

Max ramp weight 1 5,134 Ib

Max takeoff weight 1 5,092 Ib

Max useful load 1 1,754 Ib

Payload w/full fuel 1 595 Ib

Max landing weight I 4,850 Ib

Fuel capacity, std 1173 gal(170 gal usable) 1,160 Ib (1,139 Ibusable)

Baggage capacity (rear) 1 100 Ib, 20cu ft

PERFORMANCE

Normal takeoff distance over 50-ftobstacle, sea level I 2,800 ftMax demonstrated crosswindcomponent 1 17 kt

Rate of climb, sea level, max gross wt1,550 fpm

Cruise speed/range w/1 hour fuel rsv

@ Max power setting, 25,000 ft260 KTAS / 840 nm

(269 pph/40 gph)@ Max range setting, 28,000 ft

180 KTAS / 1,250 nm

(135 pph/ 20 gph)Max operating altitude 1 30,000 ft

Landing distance over 50-ft obstacle(w/o reverse) 1 2,080 ft

Landing distance, ground roll (w/oreverse) 1 1,000 ft

LIMITING AND RECOMMENDED AIRSPEEDS

Vx (best angle of climb) 1 95 KIAS

Vy (best rate of climb) I 12S KIAS

VA(design maneuvering) I 127 KIAS

VFE (max flap extended) 1 168 KIAS

VLE (max gear extended) 1 168 KIAS

VLO (max gear operating)Extend 1 168 KIAS

Retract I 129 KIAS

VMO (max operating speed) I 188 KIAS

VS1 (stall, clean) 1 79 KIAS

Vso(stall, in landing configuration)69 KIAS

FOR MORE INFORMATION

Contact Piper Aircraft Inc., 2926 PiperDrive, Vero Beach, Florida 32960,772-567-4361,www.piper.com.Based on manufacturer's calculations. Allperformance figures are based on standard day.•standard atmosphere. sea level, gross weight •conditions unless otherwise noted.

EXTRA Spinner to tail, the Meridian is abit more than eight inches longer thanthe Mirage.

--_.~-----------------------------------------------

to allow more elbow and hiproom, light emitting diode(LED) interior lighting, and theaddition of two nO-volt out­lets in the cabin for electronicdevices.

THE PT6A-42A ENGINE comesfrom a line of well-established

engines, and it has been wellintegrated with the Meridianairframe. However, like the air­frame, it has seen several smallyet effective improvementssince first deliveries. One of the

more prominent, starting with2004 models, added compo­nents to allow for operations

in outside air temperaturesas low as minus 54 degrees C(previous models had a low­temperature limit of minus41 degrees C). The new lowerlimit was attained by adding afuel temperature gauge in thecockpit and replacing the flex­ible engine hoses with solidones. A retrofit kit is available

for pre-2004 models via a ser­vice bulletin.

Equally significant were thechanges to the engine mounts.In Meridians from model years2001 through mid-2006, therewas a widespread problem ofcracks forming on the engine

mount at the points where thenose landing gear attached tothe mount. Piper covered thebill on this one; the companypaid to have the engine mountsreplaced on more than 200Meridians. This was of equalbenefit to future Meridian

owners as today there are noaircraft flying with the old­style mount-or at least thereshouldn't be.

THE MERIDIAN HAS HAD three

base avionics packages availablefrom the factory, and arguably,each evolution has made the

Meridian progressively better.

THE AUTOMATED

environmental controlsystem has seennumerous improve­ments over the years(top). The interior iselegantly simple. Thelatest models improvecockpit access. Somebuyers now omit theradar pod (facingpage) in favor ofdatalink weather.

www.aopa.org/pllot AOPA PILOT I T-13

When first designing theMeridian, Piper teamed up withMeggitt Avionicsfor an avionicssuite exclusive to the Meridian,

and the result was the MeggittMAGIC (Meggitt AvionicsNextGeneration Integrated Cockpit).The MAGIC system was a per­fect pairing for the advancedMeridian, offering electronicflight and engine instrumenta­tion (EFIS), BendixjKing colorradar, and GPS navigation pro­vided by dual Garmin GNS530units. The system came pairedwith an S-Tec 550 autopilot,

though in 2003 it was replacedby Meggitt's 1500autopilot. The1500 added a nterface and an

indicated airspeed hold functionfor climbs and descents.

By 2004, when other GAaircraft were starting to bedelivered with full glass-panelcockpits, the MAGIC systemwas becoming obsolete. Inthe 2006 models, Meridianswere delivered with the

Avidyne Entegra avionics suite,

comprised of two EXP5000primary flight displays, oneEX5000 multifunction dis­

play, two Garmin GNS430units, and the 1500 autopilot.

The Meridian had officiallyentered the glass-co.ckpit era.The Avidyne system offerednumerous improvements overthe MAGIC; among them wasdatalink (satellite) weather andJeppesen charts displayed onthe lO-inch MFD. In late 2008,the aircraft was delivered withdual WAAS-enabled GNS430W

navigators, and a retrofit kit wasmade available for non-WAAS­

enabled aircraft to upgrade.After a near four-year run

with the Avidyne Entegra,customers grew anxious forsomething new. In late 2009,Piper started placingthe GarminGlOOOfully integrated flightdeck in the Meridian. With

this new system, owners wereimmersed in the latest technol­

ogy,including the integration ofthe Garmin GFC 700 autopilot,

Garmin's Synthetic VisionTechnology, satellite weatherand radio, and a IS-inch MFDin the middle of the panel.

PIPER IS STILL PRODUCING

the Meridian, and the GlOOOremains the avionics plat­form of choice for new aircraft.

And although pilots and own­ers always crave the latest andgreatest, there is still heavydemand for previously ownedMAGIC and Avidyne-equippedMeridians, mainly because oflower prices. The base price of abrand-new 2012 Meridian withGlOOOavionics is $2.13million.

A pre-owned 2009 Meridianwith GlOOOcan be bought for$1.5 to $1.6million, dependingon hours, additional equip­ment, and history. The AvidyneEntegra system is still a wor­thy competitor to the GlOOO,and a 2006 Avidyne-equippedMeridian with higher-than­fleet-average total time and noWAAS can be found very close

to $1 million. Not surprisingly,the Meggitt MAGIC Meridiansvary the most in price, mainlybecause there is so much vari­

ation in airframe and enginehours as well as equipment. Forexample, a buyer can likelypickup an earlier model Meridianfor less than $700,000, but itwill have base avionics, highertime, and the lower maximum

gross weight. Alternatively, onecould spend $900,000 or morefor one with upgraded avionics,lower time, and the high grossweight. Needless to say, thereare Meridians out there fittinga wide range of budgets, butall boast the same impressiveresume: performance and tech­nology flawlessly integratedwith simplicity and proven reli­ability. AOPA

ANDREW GALLAGHER is a 2.000­

hour commercial pilot and CFL

He works in sales and train-

ing at jetAvia in Santa Monica.

California.