OSHKOSH, WIS. – At a press briefing held during EAA AirVenture Oshkosh, July 20, 2015, Piper President and CEO Simon Caldecott announced that Piper Aircraft and Hartzell Propeller are collaborating on the certification of a five-bladed composite propeller for the Piper Meridian and M500 through a Supplemental Type Certificate (“STC”). Achievement of the STC for both Piper products is anticipated by the end of fourth quarter this year.
Piper Aircraft is also collaborating with Garmin on the development of “Piper Pilot,” the Piper-specific avionics app based on Garmin Pilot for iPad and iPhone. The first phase of Piper Pilot allows pilots to file their flight plans and receive full en route navigation on an interactive map. Piper Pilot offers 3D Vision, aviation weather, flight plan filing, advanced traffic and weather, and pilot logbook. Piper Pilot is integrated into the cockpit and connected with the certified avionics.
Piper will deliver three new twin-engine piston-powered Piper Seminoles to the University of North Dakota. The first of three Seminoles was accepted at AirVenture. The remaining two aircraft were delivered to UND following AirVenture at an acceptance ceremony in Vero Beach, Florida. The pilot training aircraft will join the aerospace program’s training fleet of more than 120 aircraft.
Also following AirVenture, Piper delivered three single-engine complex Piper Arrow trainers to the University of Dubuque, Dubuque, Iowa.
During AirVenture, FlightSafety International signed an agreement to purchase 20 single-engine Piper Warriors and six (6) single-engine Piper Arrows. The new aircraft will begin to enter service at the FlightSafety Academy in Vero Beach, Florida later this year.
Piper announced that it will deliver a new Piper Arrow to the Aeronautics Division at Kent State University’s College of Applied Engineering, Sustainability and Technology in Stow, Ohio.
The full line of Piper aircraft was displayed at AirVenture, as well as a mockup of Piper’s latest product, the M600. The M600 features a new, clean sheet design wing and a sophisticated Garmin G3000 touchscreen-controlled glass flight deck. The M600 seats six and is powered by a Pratt & Whitney PT6A-42A 600 shp engine. The aircraft has a maximum cruise speed of 260 KTAS, a max range of 1,300 nm, and a max payload of 1,200 lbs.
The Piper Meridian M500 features the latest in Garmin G1000 avionics, enhanced safety features, and a number of other significant product improvements.