New Piper Meridian Orders Top 137

New Piper Aircraft is presenting at NBAA its newly certificated flagship, the Malibu Meridian. Four Meridian test aircraft have flown for more than 1,500 hours since the type's first flight in August 1999. The company has taken 137 orders for the turboprop Meridian since it was announced at NBAA in Dallas in 1997, selling out the production line until the end of 2001. Some 35 aircraft should be delivered by the end of this year, and 100 next year.

The $1.5 million Meridian remains unique. Smaller and less expensive than other turbine singles (except for the radical and as yet uncertificated Jetcruzer) it offers pressurization and high-speed, high-altitude performance unmatched by piston twins.

Powered by a 500 shp Pratt & Whitney Canada PT6A-42A, the Meridian cruises as fast as 267 knots and can carry up to six people to a cruising altitude of 30,000 feet. It has an all-new standard avionics suite including an S-Tec autopilot, dual Garmin GNS-530 GPS navigation and communications systems, Meggitt engine instrument display system and Honeywell radar. A Meggitt flat-panel flight instrument system is optional, but is expected to be used almost universally.