Business Jets: In 2007 demand for business jets surges
Piper PA-46
October 9, 2007 - 12:39pm
In the aftermath of July’s well publicized engine-out ditching of a Pilatus PC-12 in the Pacific Ocean off the coast of Russia, industry observers are asking how this and other recent accidents have affected the statistical reliability of single-engine turboprops and if sales of these aircraft are suffering.
October 9, 2007 - 12:27pm
Piper Aircraft last month received FAA certification for flight into known icing for the company’s new Meridian turboprop single. Piper is implementing a retrofit scheduling program to bring the fleet of approximately 100 Meridians up to the latest production standards, and will include modifications to allow for the approval.
October 8, 2007 - 10:52am
When Charles Lindbergh began planning one of the first truly long cross-country solo flights in 1927 everyone understood the risks inherent in a 3,000-mile journey in an airplane powered by a single 223-hp Wright J5 engine. Failure meant he’d probably end up as a shark snack. Luckily, he didn’t have the boss on board.
October 8, 2007 - 10:51am
PIPER PA-46-310P OSTEEN, FLA., JUNE 14, 2002–Flying in an area of thunderstorms, Piper Malibu N9143B, a JetProp turboprop conversion, lost its right wing and left horizontal stabilizer in flight. The private pilot and two passengers were killed when the airplane crashed at about 8:35 p.m. The turboprop single was en route from Raleigh, N.C., to Marco Island, Fla.
October 8, 2007 - 9:45am
When Piper introduced the Meridian in 2001, it marked the return of the Vero Beach, Fla.-based manufacturer to the turboprop market and the end of a nine-year hiatus since the Cheyenne production line went quiet in 1992.
September 27, 2007 - 7:27am
Piper Malibu Meridian PA-46-500TP, Parowan, Utah, Jan. 16, 2007–The NTSB determined that the runway overrun of the Malibu Meridian at Parowan Airport was due to the inadequate design of the engine mount, which caused an uncommanded left turn during the landing roll and loss of directional control. The Meridian hit a snow bank. No one was injured in the accident.
August 27, 2007 - 11:23am
Piper PA-46-500TP Malibu Meridian, Wellsville, Mo., June 28, 2007 – All three occupants of the Meridian were killed when it broke up in flight in VMC near Wellsville. The turboprop took off from the Spirit of St. Louis Airport at 7:52 a.m. and was cleared to FL230. Radar contact was lost at about 8:15. The path of the wreckage was about four miles long.
June 7, 2007 - 9:58am
The race is on; the first manufacturer to certify, build and deliver a single-engine jet that offers reasonable performance and price might have the market to itself until Piper Aircraft’s PiperJet joins the fray in 2010. Unless Cirrus Design has far more up its sleeve than it has revealed thus far, it appears that Diamond will be first to market with its surprisingly roomy D-Jet.
April 18, 2007 - 9:24am
Rocket Engineering of Spokane, Wash.–the company involved in the Piper Malibu JetProp DLX Pratt & Whitney Canada PT6A conversion–is at it again. This time Rocket has been quietly working for the past two years on a P&WC PT6A-35-powered Beechcraft Duke BE60 conversion.
