Piper Aircraft is launching a new initiative here at NBAA to promote its flagship Meridian single-engine turboprop as a business aircraft. The six-seat, $2.176 million M-Class Meridian features a Pratt & Whitney Canada PT6A-42A 500 shp engine and Garmin G1000 glass panel avionics. Top cruise speed is 260 knots and maximum range is 1,000 nm.

“In the past few years we have noted that the number of Meridians flown by Part 91 operations has doubled as corporate flight departments move up to a turboprop, or convert to a single-engine Piper from a twin-engine turbine aircraft,” noted Drew McEwen, Piper vice-president of sales and marketing.

Separately, Piper announced earlier this month that it had sold a Meridian to Airline Transport Professionals (ATP) for ab initio airline training. ATP operates more than 130 Piper piston engine aircraft and claims to have been the first school to integrate turbine aircraft flight experience into its ab initio airline pilot training.