“I’ve owned quite a few aircraft over the years,” explains Greenhalgh, “from three Pitts Specials to L29 and 元9 Delfin and Albatros jet trainers” (he imported them from Eastern Europe for himself and others) “via a Cessna 172, Piper Twin Comanche and Cessna 340A.” The big Cessna twin is the most recent touring aircraft he owned and is the one that was shown the door to make way for the Meridian. I’m somewhat excited a) because I’ve never been in a single-engine turboprop aircraft and b) because Greenhalgh is a class rating instructor and has said that I can have a go at flying it. We’ll skip the details because even thinking about it is bringing Greenhalgh close to tears of exasperation.ĭespite these hold-ups, Greenalgh is very excited about his new aircraft and is so evangelical he has offered to take Whiteman and Goodwin to Jersey for a sandwich and a cup of tea. It’s a 2003 Piper Meridian that was bought almost a year ago but has been in his hands only for the last few months due to some epic clowning around by a maintenance organisation that had been given the simple task of snagging the Piper for flight and carrying out its annual. His latest purchase is currently being pulled out of one of Lydd’s hangars. Greenhalgh has an addiction to scanning the classifieds that matches mine except for the slight difference that he puts his money where his eyes have fallen. The Editor and I are scoffing bacon sarnies in Lydd’s café while we wait for Phil Greenhalgh to arrive. I can blather on all day on the above subject, and today that’s exactly what I intend to do. You can carry out a lot of maintenance and buy a lot of fuel with £65,000 in change… Trouble is the steep purchase price of close on £100,000 made the case for a nicely refurbished and well kept £35K PA-28 look extremely attractive. Light on the juice, cheap to run, the Rotax machine looked like a shoo-in. You may remember that a few years ago we looked at the advantages of a modern Rotax-engined light aircraft for training versus the traditional Piper PA-28. The pros and cons of one particular aircraft versus another are more subtle, and require more research and use of a calculator. But it’s more complicated and fascinating than that. The cost of servicing a Ferrari, of course, is more than it is for a Ford but the difference is not as ridiculous as it is between a Piper Cub and a Beech King Air. For starters, my driving licence allows me to drive anything from a Smart ForTwo to a McLaren 720S?anywhere, anytime, and in any weather. Poring over aircraft for sale ads is even more riveting than car classifieds because there’s a lot more to buying an aeroplane than a car. Nowadays, since being bitten by the aviation bug, the time spent dreaming of lottery wins has doubled. My whole life has been spent poring over classified advertisements in car magazines, dreaming and scheming and carrying out complicated man-math calculations. Usually ‘Old Timers’ wins it, but sometimes I delay the pleasure of reading Peter R March’s words and skip to my second-favourite section of Pilot: the dreaming department ? specifically, the regular advertisements placed by Plane Trading and AT Aviation. Words Colin Goodwin and photos Philip Whiteman #Piper meridian professional#The low level of complexity offers an easy transition from a complex piston engine aircraft and its performance/flight characteristics make the meridian desirable by even the highest time professional pilot.The dream of touring in a turboprop of one’s own is not so far-fetched as it may seem. The simplicity of the PT6A combined with the intuitive G1000 makes the Meridian a perfect aircraft for all pilots. After just a few hours behind this incredible avionics suite you will understand why Garmin has become the avionics manufacturer of choice. Garmin has been able to integrate these features all while maintaining an intuitive user interface. The Garmin G1000 avionics suite offers features that were previously reserved for larger corporate jets. The high level of comfort offered by the Piper Meridian makes even the longest cross country flights enjoyable. The experience of the air conditioned, pressurized cabin is enhanced by the low vibration and noise levels of the turboprop engine. Passengers will enjoy the luxurious six place cabin seating. The quality of the all metal construction combined with the durability of the Pratt and Whiney PT6A-42A engine makes the Meridian one of the most reliable and efficient aircraft available. The Piper Meridian is the ultimate in personal and business travel. Priced at nearly $1 million less than any comparable turboprop and with 30% less operating costs than any competitor the Meridian represents a tremendous value. The Piper Meridian is the most affordable and economical turboprop on the market. Piper Meridian Aircraft Parts, Avionics, Maintenance & Interiors
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