Piper Aircraft has secured Canadian type certification for its M600 single-engined turboprop, and is preparing to begin deliveries of the flagship aircraft to local customers in February.
While the US airframer is tight-lipped on the size of its Canadian M600 orderbook, it does reveal that it has “several aircraft scheduled for delivery to the country” in 2017. Piper expects additional sales to come from local operators of its M500 entry-level turboprop-single and the piston-engined M350 “stepping up” to the six-seat model.
Piper Aircraft
“M600 validation in Canada is exciting news for Piper and our prospective customers in that region,” says chief executive Simon Caldecott. “We have seen quite a bit of interest from Canadian owner/operators given the expanded range, payload and speed that the M600 offers.”
PIper lists the maximum cruise speed as 274kt (510km/h) and range as 1,480nm (2,670km), allowing it to connect major Canadian and US city pairs such as Quebec City or Vancouver to Winnipeg and Toronto to Miami or Anchorage.
Piper says the $2.9 million M600 “successfully addresses a segment of the market currently unserved in general aviation and at a price point significantly below that of our competitors.” These include the $4.9 million Pilatus PC-12NG and the $4.1 million Daher TBM 930.
Piper Aircraft
The Pratt & Whitney Canada PT6A-42A-powered M600 entered service in June 2016 following a 15-month certification campaign; Flight Fleets Analyzer records 15 deliveries of the type to date.
Brazilian and European certifications are expected in the first and second quarters of 2017, respectively.
Meanwhile. Piper has received an order from its Chinese dealership for 50 Archer piston singles. Beijing-based China Air Shuttle says the four-seat aircraft will help to feed the country's growing pilot training school market.
Deliveries are scheduled to begin in the second quarter of 2017, with local training provider and Seminole piston-twin operator Ruixiang Flight Academy the launch customer.
Source: Flight International
