New Piper PA-46-500TP Meridian

Piper PA-46 Meridian · Specifications

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Overview

This document provides specifications for the Piper PA-46-500TP Meridian, a single-engine turboprop aircraft. It details the aircraft's performance, dimensions, and operational capabilities, aimed at pilots and aviation enthusiasts. The Meridian is designed for efficiency and ease of operation, featuring advanced avionics and a powerful Pratt & Whitney engine. The document outlines critical performance metrics such as takeoff distances, climb rates, and cruise speeds, along with detailed specifications on weight, fuel capacity, and airspeeds. It serves as a comprehensive reference for understanding the capabilities and operational parameters of the Meridian.

Max takeoff weight: 5,092 lb
Max useful load: 1,750 lb
Cruise speed: 260 KTAS at 25,000 ft
Takeoff distance at sea level: 2,438 ft
Max operating altitude: 30,000 ft

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Document details

Type: Specifications
Year: 2003
Pages: 6
File size: 4.9 MB
Publisher: aeroresourcesinc.com

Specifications & performance

Extracted from this document.

Specifications

Range (nm): 1,035
Engine (hp): 500
Height (ft): 11
Length (ft): 29
Propeller: Hartzell
Wingspan (ft): 43
Engine model: PT6A-42A
Max speed (kt): 260
Cruise speed (kt): 175
Empty weight (lb): 3,384
Fuel capacity (gal): 173
Rate of climb (fpm): 1,556
Service ceiling (ft): 30,000
Max takeoff weight (lb): 5,092

Performance

Fuel burn (gph): 40
Landing over 50ft: 2,200
Max crosswind (kt): 17
Takeoff over 50ft: 2,438
Landing distance (ft): 1,042
Takeoff distance (ft): 3,691
Stall speed clean (kt): 79
Stall speed landing (kt): 61

V-speeds

VA: 127
VR: 85
VX: 95
VY: 125
VS1: 79
VSO: 61

Weight & balance

Useful load (lb): 1,750
Max ramp weight (lb): 5,134
Baggage allowance (lb): 100
Basic empty weight (lb): 3,384
Max landing weight (lb): 4,850
Max takeoff weight (lb): 5,092

Documentation completeness

4/7

Most owners only have the POH. Here's the essential set for the Piper PA-46 Meridian.

Pilot's Operating Handbook / AFM
Checklist
Maintenance Manual
Parts Catalog (IPC)
Systems & Wiring
Service Bulletins
Type Certificate (TCDS)

More Piper PA-46 Meridianmanuals & documents

In this document

Specifications

The Piper PA-46-500TP Meridian features a Pratt & Whitney Canada PT6A-42A engine with 500 shp and a recommended TBO of 3,600 hours. The aircraft has a length of 29 ft 7 in, a height of 11 ft 4 in, and a wingspan of 43 ft. It has a maximum ramp weight of 5,134 lb and a maximum takeoff weight of 5,092 lb, allowing for a maximum useful load of 1,750 lb.

Performance

The Meridian's takeoff distance at sea level under standard temperature conditions is 2,438 ft, increasing to 3,691 ft at 5,000 ft and 25°C. The maximum demonstrated crosswind component is 17 knots, with a rate of climb at sea level of 1,556 fpm. In cruise, the aircraft can achieve a maximum speed of 260 KTAS at 25,000 ft.

Limiting and Recommended Airspeeds

Key airspeeds include Vx (best angle of climb) at 95 KIAS, Vy (best rate of climb) at 125 KIAS, and Vso (stall in landing configuration) at 61 KCAS. Maximum gear operating speeds are 168 KIAS for extension and 129 KIAS for retraction.

Safety notes

Ensure proper weight and balance before flight to avoid exceeding maximum limits.
Monitor fuel temperatures to prevent operational issues.

Full document text

Engineers do their best to keep payload-range envelopes as flexible as possible, but certification and practicallimita- tions conspire against a long-range, seats-full design. This is especially true of smaller airplanes, be they turbine or pis- ton powered. The need to keep stall speeds low-at or below the 61-knot mark for turboprop singles-means that maxi- sions of these airplanes came out, work was begun immediately to increase their takeoff weights, useful loads, and full-fuel payloads. The New Piper Meridian has just followed suit. Last faU, New Piper an- !to~ r ~W~, witit tIM ~~ ~ ~~ ~GIe 11OO~,.e~t~ $\~ mum takeoff weights must be kept down. The need to keep flexing forces at wing attach points under control means zero-fuel weight (the weight above which all additional load must be in fuel) limitations that can be hundreds of pounds less than maximum takeoff weight. This can limit passenger and baggage loads right there, leaving less weight allowance for fuel. Single-engine turboprops have been plagued by these pay- load-range tradeoffs from the beginning. After the first ver- AOPA PILOT· 76 . OCTOBER 2003 nounced a maximum takeoff weight in- crease for the airplane-from 4,850 to 5,092 pounds. This expansion translates into a 242-lb boost in useful load, ac- cording to New Piper. And a concomi-~ tant full-fuel payload hike to 569 pounds. Of course, the actual weights vary from airplane to airplane, depend- ing on equipment. k How did they do it? To help lift the extra weight while pre- serving the 61-knot stall speed in the landing configuration, New Piper added vortex generators (VGs) to the Meridian's wings and horizontal stabi- lizer. These help preserve laminar air- flow over the lifting surfaces at higher weights and angles of attack. There are 92 VGs on the wings and 80 on the un- dersurface of the horizontal stabilizer. A side benefit of the VGs was the elimi- nation of the center pair of stall strips on the wings: They simply weren't needed to meet certification standards for behavior in the stall regime. To beef up the landing gear to handle the extra weight, New Piper added stiff- eners to wing brackets that help support the main gear assemblies. The MAGIC 1500 completes the Meridian's suite of Meggitt avionics. Though It's a tight squeeze into the front office. once seated you face one 01 the most advanced panels that ever graced a slngl~ngine airplane One nice feature is the foolproof pressurization system. Forget to set it. and it automatically comes on as you pass through 12,000 feet. A MAGIC autopilot The maximum gross weight increase isn't the only big change in the Meridian line. The avionics suite reaches a new plateau with the addition of the Meggitt Avionics MAGIC 1500 digital flight control system. The MAGIC (Meg- gitt Avionics Advanced Generation Integrated Cockpit) sys- tem is included as standard equipment, completes the air- plane's full Meggitt suite, and replaces the earlier autopilot- Meggitt's S-Tec System 550. Designed from the start for compatibility with the rest of the Meridian's Meggitt avionics, the 1500 adds an extra level of integration to the panel's many capabilities. With its yaw damper, roll steering, airspeed-hold, vertical-speed-hold, and altitude preselect modes the 1500 is almost as capable as units found in much more expensive turbine aircraft-the only f~a- tures missing are soft-ride and half-bank modes. ~ The 1500's voice annunciations add to the pilot's safety and situational awareness. A digitized female voice advises when pitch trim is in motion, if the airplane is in an out-of- trim condition, when the airplane is within 1,000 and 200 AOPA PILOT. 77. OCTOBEH 2003 feet of a target altitude, if a selected altitude is exceeded by 200 feet or more, and when the autopilot is disconnected. In addition to the Meggitt's primary flight display (PFD) and navigation display (ND). another pair of engine display units (ED Us) depict engine status, fuel flow and quantity information, and trend monitoring and exceedance of any engine parameters-such as torque or ITT (inter-turbine temperature) . Guidance for the PFD, ND, and MAGIC 1500 is provided by dual air data, attitude, and heading reference system (ADAI-IRS) units. These lightweight, compact, solid-state modules use tiny vibrating elements to establish a reference platform for attitude and heading information. Dual Garmin GNS 530 GPS/nav/coms, a Honeywell KMD 850 multifunction display, and a Honeywell/ Allied Signal RDR-2000 vertical profiling weather radar are also included in the standard avionics package. Among the options are the Honeywell IHAS 8000 (integrated hazard avoidance system). an L3 Avionics WX-500 Stormscope, and a Honeywell KDR 510 datalink receiver for uplink weather data. All in all, it's a An outgrowth of the Malibu and Mirage piston singles, the Meridian offers a plusher interior and scads more high-tech features. AOPA PILOT· 78· OCTOBER 2003 \ • e r ID I~1), 'R a very impressive stack of avionics-and New Piper has kept the Meridian's price frozen at last year's $1.75 million level. Flying impressions The Meridian is perhaps the simplest of the single-engine tur- boprops. Many of its systems have set -and- forget functional- ity (fuel and pressurization come most readily to mind) and the airplane's an easy step up from a Mirage or, for that matter, any large complex piston single. Control feel, appropriately heavy for a ship its size, is solid and conveys a sense of the air- plane's substance. As for target airspeeds, they correspond to those of a Beechcraft Bonanza or New Piper Saratoga: Rotate at 85 knots, climb out at 125 knots, and fly final approach at 85 knots with full flaps. Touchdowns should be planned for 80 knots-a speed low enough that reverse thrust isn't really needed on all but the shortest runways.

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Of course, in cruise the Meridian eats up Bonanzas and Saratogas. The day of my familiarization flight I saw a 250-knot true airspeed at 25,000 feet, burning Jet-A at a rate of250 pph, or 37 gph. Outside air temperature was minus 17 degrees Celsius \ -- (~ ~ \ ~I .J .1 • SPEC SHEET Specifications Powerplant Pratt & Whitney Canada PT6A-42A. 500 shp Recommended TBO 3.600 hr Propeller Hartzell. 4-blade. constant- speed. full-feathering. reversible-pitch Length 29 ft 7 in Height 11 ft 4 in Wingspan .43 ft Wing area 183 sq ft Wing loading 27.8 Ib/sq ft Power loading 10.18 Ib/shp Seats _ _ 6 Cabin length 12 ft 4 in Cabin width .4 ft 1 in Cabin height _ 3 ft 9 in Typical equipped weight _ 3.384 Ib Max ramp weight 5.134 Ib Max takeoff weight 5,092 Ib Max useful load 1,750 Ib Max zero fuel weight 4.850 Ib Payload w/full fuel 548 Ib Max landing weight.. 4.850 Ib Fuel capacity. std 173 gal (170 gal usable) ...................... 1.160 Ib (1,140 Ib usable) (about 10 degrees C above standard, or ISA plus 10 degrees). torque was set at 1,100 ftllb, the propeller was set at 2,000 rpm, and ITT was 670 degrees C-firmly in the middle of the green arc. This was a maximum-speed cruise setting. Up at 27,000 feet and minus 24 degrees C, max cruise power settings yielded 257 KTAS. New Piper says the Meridian turns in its maximum speed of260 KTAS under ISA conditions at 25,000 feet (minus 35 degrees C) while burning about 270 pph. A fuel temperature gauge, located on the lower left corner of the in- strument panel, can be installed to spot lower- than -recommended fuel temperatures. The MAGIC 1500 flight control system did a lot of the flying, and it did a beautiful job. This is perhaps one of the most intuitive flight control systems. With just a little practice, you can easily master all its many functions. Localizer in- tercepts are exceptionally smooth, as are altitude captures and the roll-steering course-change com- mands provided in the nav mode. The voice annunciations add an- other "big airplane" touch to the cockpit environment. Landings are real confidence builders. With gear and flaps ex- tended, you can ballpark a 500- Ib/ft torque setting for an ILS' final ADPA PILOT' 80 •DemREH 2003 New Piper PA-46·500TP Meridian Standard-equipped price: $1.75 million Baggage capaCity. aft cabin 100 lb. 20 cu ft Performance Takeoff performance SL. standard temp .... .................................................... 2,438 ft Takeoff performance. 5.000 ft @ 25 deg C /77 deg F 3,691 ft Maxdemonstrated crosswind component .. .......... _ 17 kt Rate of climb. SL 1.556 fpm Cruise speed/range w/NBAA fuel rsv. std conditions (fuel consumption) @ max speed cruise, 28.000 ft . .................................... 257 kt/960 nm (269 pph/40 gph) @ Max range cruise, 25,000 ft .... 175 kt/ 1,035 nm (143 pph/21 gph) Max operating altitude 30.000 ft Sea-level cabin 12,400 ft Landing distance over 50-ft obstacle. w/o reverse _ 2,200 ft Landing distance, ground roll 1.042 ft Limiting and Recommended Airspeeds Vx (best angle of climb) 95 KIAS approach; this produces 125 knots. VFR approaches can be flown slower: 100 knots on final is a good speed. On short final, a torque setting of 280 to 300 lb/ft prevents propeller pitch from flattening The "v1erf<li; cabin i!, plomty (',,""101 •. rble for typical ~ ..enlle, 10'ds. To. :cess .ne dft oc"8"61:: drbd, fold do.m 00\> IT. the red. seat!.. ~I Vy (best rate of climb) 125 KIAS VA (design maneuvering) 127 KIAS VFE (max flap extended), 10 degrees . .............................................. 168 KIAS 20 degrees 135 KIAS 36 degrees (fUll) 118 KIAS VLE (max gear extended) 168 KIAS VLO (max gear operating) Extend 168 KIAS Retract 129 KIAS VMO (max operating speed) 188 KIAS VS1 (stall. clean) 79 KIAS Vso (stall, in landing configuration) . .............................................. 61 KCAS For more information, contact The New Piper Aircraft Inc .• 2926 Piper Drive. Vero Beach. Florida 32960; telephone 772/567-4361; fax 772/978-6584; or visit the Web site (www.newpiper.com). All specifications are based on manufactur- er's calculations. All performance figures are based on standard day, standard atmosphere, sea level, maximum weight conditions unless otherwise noted. out and causing high sink rates. Arrest air- speed to 80 to 85 knots over the threshold, touch down mains-first, let the nose settle to the runway, pull the power levers up and over the first gate and into the beta range (flat pitch). then apply brakes to stop. Anyone with an instrument rating, some time in a big piston single, and sim- ulator-based formal training from SimCom (included with the pur- chase of a new Meridian) will be comfortable behind the wheel in 10 hours or so. The Meridian was a relative latecomer to the single-engine turboprop market, but its combi- nation of low cost, high perfor- mance, advanced avionics, and simple opera- tion give it a firm niche. With the price freeze, the hike in gross weight, the high- end autopilot, and thc bonus deprcciation ratcs (buyers of new airplancs may enjoy up to 60- percent depreciation in the first year of ownership) thc Meridian re- mains one of the bcst values in:a singlc-cngine turboprop. /alA E-mail the alllhar at tom.harne@ aapa.Dlg

All Piper PA-46 Meridian specifications