Piper Aircraft’s flagship M600 single turboprop has completed FAA show compliance flight testing, clearing the path for function and reliability testing, which began this week, ahead of schedule. FAA type certification is expected in the third quarter.

As a result of “exceeding expectations” during flight tests, Piper has increased the single engine aircraft’s range from 1,200 to 1,441 nm, and its top speed from 260 to 274 kts, the U.S. company’s president and CEO Simon Caldecott told a press conference at the EBACE show on Tuesday

Featuring a clean sheet wing and powered by a 600 shp Pratt & Whitney PT6A-42A turbine engine, base price of the new turboprop is $2.85 million.

All M600s that will be produced this year (17) have been sold to dealers or retail customers, Caldecott said, and the company plans to build 21 next year, though that figure will depend on demand.

Piper’s M-Class aircraft (which also includes the Matrix and M350 pistons, and M500 turboprop) have long been predominantly owner flown, but as the line has matured the share of non-pilot buyers has climbed from ten to twenty percent of sales, and the company expects that percentage to grow once the M600 enters service; a number of charter operators have talked about adding the model to their fleets, Caldecott reported.

Annual M-Class turboprop sales have historically “been in the mid-30s,” but the company doesn’t expect a big increase in that number despite having two turboprops to offer, he said.

Meanwhile, Vero Beach, Fla.-based Piper (Booth T051) earlier this year adjusted prices, standard equipment and options for its M-class airframes “to create price spacing between the products that would support the optimal step-up structure as well as a seamless transition,” Caldecott said.

Among the changes: The M500 price has been lowered from $2.264 million to $1.99 million and its newly upgraded executive interior option is now a standard feature; the M350 has added a redesigned executive interior as an option; and the price of the entry level Matrix has been lowered from $939,950 to $899,000. The base price of the twin-engine Seneca V has likewise been dropped more than $50,000 to $979,000.