Piper Aircraft has secured long-awaited European Aviation Safety Agency certification for its M500 single-engined turboprop, and has delivered the first locally registered type to a Swiss owner.
Piper president and chief executive Simon Caldecott describes the award – which comes after a 20-month wait – as an “important milestone” for the company.
“It allows us to kick off a major sales campaign to bring the M500 to the European market where Piper has already secured a number of orders," he says.
The M500 received US certification in December 2014 and entered service the following month. The aircraft has also been approved in Brazil, Canada and Japan.
Piper Aircraft
The M500 is an upgraded and rebranded version of the 15-year-old Meridian turboprop, featuring a Garmin G1000 flightdeck and a revamped interior. Flight Fleets Analyzer records a global inventory of more than 580 aircraft of which 35 are the M500 iteration.
Vero Beach, Florida-based Piper recently slashed the price of the Pratt & Whitney PT6A-42A-powered aircraft by almost $300,000, to $2 million, as part of a strategy to reposition the M-Class piston and turboprop family and boost its appeal within an increasingly competitive marketplace. The M-Class line-up also includes the $900,000 Matrix, $1.3 million M350 and the flagship $2.9 million M600, which entered service in July.
“We have already submitted our application to EASA for the M600,” Piper says. “We look forward to working with them to achieve certification as quickly as possible.”
Source: Flight International
