September 2012
With 150 hp (the original had just 108 hp) Piper’s rag-and-tube nosewheel classic is a “no-worries airplane”
The M-Class series of aircraft first began as a glimmer in Piper’s eye in 1977. Piper management had set a goal of increasing its 26 percent market share to a full 50 percent. To reach this goal Piper would need to outsell its competitors—by a lot. Piper executives knew they’d have to develop a brand-new product to meet the challenge.
The market segment identified for Piper’s new model was the pressurized single; Cessna’s pressurized 210had begun shipping to customers, and was proving to be a popular model.1 In 1978, Piper lured Jim Griswold away from Cessna to serve as Piper’s Director of Engineering.
The new Piper model was specified to be six-place, pressurized, low-wing, turbocharged and high performance. Where the Cessna 210’s third-row seats were smaller than the front seats, Piper wanted each of its six seats to be equal in head, shoulder and leg room. Entry would be through the cabin and not over the wing.
Instead of just designing and creating a single model, Piper wanted the ability to expand the project into an entirely new line of aircraft where parts and engineering interchangeability would be maximized.
THE MALIBU
A prototype of the model PA-46—really, a full size mock-up using wood and metal for the fuselage and an oil drum for the gas tank—flew on Nov. 30, 1979 with a 300 hp Lycoming IO-540, a narrow-chord vertical tail and using Seneca landing gear.
The next prototype, a PA-46-301P (now called Malibu), was launched in August 1982 and featured a 43-foot wingspan and conventional tail and elevator rather than the standard Piper stabilator.
The Malibu received Type Certificate A25SO on Sept. 27, 1983 and deliveries began in March 1984. It was powered by a Teledyne Continental TSIO-520-BE with a Hartzell propeller, sported a 122-gallon fuel capacity in two wing tanks, and came with an advanced-for-its-time panel and radar. The base price for an IFR-equipped Malibu was $275,000.
Although the new model was well received, problems beset the Malibu. A high number of failures with the TSIO-520-BE engine, including one fatal crash2 on Nov. 29, 1987, prompted Piper to require owners to stop flying their Malibus in December 1987. Piper offered to buy first-class airline tickets for those owners inconvenienced by the flight moratorium.
Teledyne worked to find a fix for the engine woes, but by then Piper was already looking for an alternate engine for the Malibu. Project 76 had begun at Piper in September 1987, with the directive to fit the Malibu with a Lycoming 350 hp engine and increased useful load. Prototype testing began in April 1988.
Named the Malibu Mirage, the new model was certified on Aug. 30, 1988 with a Lycoming TIO-540-AE2A and a 200 pound increase in useful load. It also included new front seats, a leather interior and an optional computerized fuel management system. It debuted at a base price of $349,000.
But Piper’s troubles were not over. Between 1989 and 1991, the Malibu was involved in several fatal accidents.
Piper had begun retesting the Malibu in June 1990 following an accident in California. The FAA issued an emergency AD in March 1991, and the FAA and NTSB began an investigation of the airframe. The AD prohibited flight in instrument conditions, use of the autopilot, the control wheel steering button and vertical trim control to change altitude. (The autopilot could still be used for level flight under the AD).
In addition, the altitude preselect and vertical speed select (if installed) had to be physically removed from the aircraft. Finally, the AD stated that pitot heat and alternate induction air had to be used in all phases of flight except takeoff and landing.
The AD was later withdrawn, but another was issued prohibiting flight in or near thunderstorms, icing and moderate to severe turbulence. The new AD also prohibited using the autopilot for altitude changes.
In 1991 Piper filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy.
The FAA ordered a Special Certification Review (SCR)3 of the PA-46. The airframe was found to be in “compliance with certification requirements; however, several areas were identified for improvement of design and clarification of operational instruction” per the special investigation report issued by the NTSB.
Recommendations included additional pilot training for operations above 18,000 feet and for more detailed information on the proper use of autopilots. In general, however, the airframe passed this rigorous reexamination with flying colors.
With that behind it, Piper (in 1995, renamed The New Piper Aircraft) was finally able to get back to the business of building, improving and selling the Mirage line. For the 1998 model the Mirage was fitted with a three-blade Hartzell composite propeller, and the 1999 model received environmentally-friendly air conditioning and a Precise Flight speed brake system. (Speed brakes were a recommendation of the SCR.)
The 2000 model year saw improvements in avionics and the switch to an S-TEC autopilot. There were no Mirages built in 2001, as Piper had turned its attention to building a faster M-Class aircraft.
THE MERIDIAN
Customer surveys showed a desire for a faster, top-of-the-line Piper, and the company’s engineers were again tasked with turning that desire into reality. The new design would use the basic Malibu airframe, but with a Pratt & Whitney PT6A-42A strapped to the front, it would meet the “need for speed.”
The PT6A-42A engine was rated at 1,290 shp, but for the Meridian it was derated to 500 shp. That gave the aircraft the capability to develop full power all the way from takeoff to its service ceiling of 30,000 feet.
The forward fuselage and cowl with NACA scoops were made to accommodate the larger engine. Other improvements included “a structurally enhanced airframe optimized by modern finite element analysis to support a higher gross weight of 4,850 pounds, a new larger horizontal tail.”4
Although the Meridian was tested with a three-blade prop, it shipped with a Hartzell four-blade reversible metal prop. Deliveries began in 2000. It was immediately popular, and over 100 were delivered its first year.
If owners had a complaint about the Meridian, it was its lack of useful load. With full tanks, the Meridian had only 468 pounds to spare—which didn’t allow for many people or much luggage. In 2002 the useful load was increased by 235 pounds, and Micro Aerodynamics’ Micro Vortex Generators were added.
Piper had pushed, prodded and primped the Malibu, getting more speed and performance as it went along, so what more could they do? They took a step in the other direction.
THE MATRIX
The long-standing corporate philosophy at Piper is to provide a family of aircraft that can accommodate a pilot/owner at every point in his or her flying life. In 2007, Piper management identified another niche: Piper wanted to woo customers away from Cirrus and Columbia (soon to become the Cessna Corvalis), but were concerned its Mirage and Meridian aircraft might be too big of a step up.
The new model that would fill this niche needed an airframe that offered the same amenities and similar performance with a higher payload and more seats than Cirrus or Columbia were offering. So, once again to the drawing board went the engineers to simplify what they had previously advanced.
They started by removing the pressurization, in-flight radar and de-icing systems. With these systems gone, the newest iteration of the Malibu airframe—the Matrix—was able to achieve significant weight savings (on the order of 180 pounds or so).
This weight savings translated into more range and payload. In fact, the Matrix features a 1,421-pound useful load, approximately 340 pounds more than a comparable Cirrus or Columbia.
Bob Kromer, vice president of sales and marketing for Piper, had this to say about the Matrix development effort: “Basically, what we sought to offer here was a cabin-class experience, 180-to 190-knot performance with no oxygen and better speed and range at higher altitude.
“…The airplane comes standard with air conditioning, and so far, 80 percent of the aircraft ordered were delivered with the de-ice package. That package includes a heated windshield—not a plate—as well as the boots. It is the same package we put on the Mirage. Additionally, 80 percent of the aircraft ordered had the optional speed brakes.”
The Matrix returned to the Lycoming TIO-540-AE2A 350 hp engine that had been used in the upgraded Malibu, with a three-blade Hartzell prop up front. The aircraft’s performance includes a cruise speed of 215 knots at 25,000 feet. Maximum takeoff weight is 4,340 pounds.
The first Matrix was delivered in early 2008 at a base price of $819,000.
Piper had the right idea with its M-Class series of aircraft. With the vertical mobility the Piper line offers—from the entry-level Archer on up through the Meridian—there is really no need for a Piper Flyer to leave the Piper Family.
1 Cessna Aircraft was not first to market with a pressurized single, however. Mooney had developed a pressurized single some years prior. The M22 Mustang was certified in 1964, and 36 units were sold before production ceased in 1970.
2 This accident triggered a lawsuit (Paboojian v. Teledyne Continental Motors) which resulted in a record-breaking $31 million settlement against Piper, Teledyne Continental and other defendants. The cylinders in the TSIO-520-BE are the subject of an AD.
3 Special Certification Review: A SCR is an evaluation of a potentially unsafe design feature on a previously certified aircraft or product. The accountable aircraft certification directorate initiates a SCR based on service experience.
The SCR team may be comprised of FAA personnel from the ACO, the accountable directorate, AEG personnel, MIDO personnel, or other FAA personnel, as appropriate. The team may use governmental agencies, outside consultant firms, and industry representatives. The SCR team thoroughly explores every significant aspect and ramification of the potential safety problem in question, including adequacy of the applicable regulations and policy material.
Results of a SCR include a detailed review and evaluation of the product’s applicable airworthiness and operational certification requirements, recommendations for revisions, if appropriate, and improvement in achieving uniform application of the certification rules throughout the FAA.
Source: FAA.gov
4 Quoted from “Piper Aircraft” by Roger Peperell. Air-Britain, 2006.
Sources:
“Piper Aircraft” by Roger Peperell. Air-Britain, 2006. FAA.gov. Piper.com. Type Certificate A250SO.
Jennifer Dellenbusch is president of the Piper Flyer Association. Send questions or comments to editor@www.piperflyer.com.
Piper Mirage
Standard Equipped List Price
With Garmin G1000 Avionics Suite $1,037,400
Specifications & Equipment
Max Cruising Speed: 213 ktas (395 km/h)
Range w/ 45-Min Reserve: 1,343 nm (2,491 km)
Standard Useful Load: 1,212 pounds (549 kg)
Number of Seats: 6
Maximum Operating Altitude:
25,000 feet (7,620 m)
Engine: Lycoming Dual
Turbocharged TIO-540-AE2A, 350 hp
Wingspan: 43 feet (13.1 m)
Length: 28.9 feet (8.8 m)
Height: 11.3 feet (3.4 m)
Cabin Length: 148 inches (375.9 cm)
Piper Meridian
Standard Equipped List Price
With Garmin G1000 Avionics Suite $2,133,650
Specifications & Equipment
Max Cruising Speed: 260 ktas (482 km/h)
Range w/ 45-Min Reserve: 1,000 nm (1,885 km)
Standard Useful Load: 1,701 pounds (771 kg)
Number of Seats: 6
Maximum Operating Altitude:
30,000 feet (9,144 m)
Engine: Pratt & Whitney
Turboprop PT6A-42A, 500 shp
Wingspan: 43 feet (13.1 m)
Length: 29.6 feet (9.0 m)
Height: 11.3 feet (3.4 m)
Cabin Length: 148 inches (375.9 cm)
Piper Matrix
Standard Equipped List Price
With Garmin G1000 Avionics Suite $903,800
Specifications & Equipment
Max Cruising Speed: 213 ktas (395 km/h)
Range w/ 45-Min Reserve: 1,343 nm (2,491 km)
Standard Useful Load: 1,389 pounds (630 kg)
Number of Seats: 6
Maximum Operating Altitude:
25,000 feet (7,620 m)
Engine: Lycoming Dual
Turbocharged TIO-540-AE2A, 350 hp
Wingspan: 43 feet (13.1 m)
Length: 28.9 feet (8.8 m)
Height: 11.3 feet (3.4 m)
Cabin Length: 148 inches (375.9 cm)
