At the National Business Aviation Association Convention in Las Vegas, Plane & Pilot editor-in-chief Isabel Goyer presented the Plane & Pilot Turboprop Plane of the Year to Piper Aircraft president and CEO Simon Caldecot for the company’s M600 single-engine turboprop. The M600 earned certification last year and Piper has already delivered many of the flagship planes. Thestrong sales are in large part because the M600 gives owners more of everything, great speed (274 knots), impressive range (1,484 nm) and better safety technology (with the Garmin G3000 avionics suite for starters). The M600, which is a development of the company’s popular PA46 line of planes, costs just under $3 million. Caldecott wouldn’t go into detail but hinted that there are more, interesting Piper products in the works already.
Piper is the inaugural winner of the Plane & Pilot Turboprop Plane of the Year Award, one of four major awards announced in the October issue, with the other winners being Cirrus Aircraft for the Plane of the Year and Light Jet of the Year for its SF50 Vision Jet; Mooney Aircraft for the Piston Plane of the Year for its M20 Acclaim Ultra; and Cub Crafters for the Sport Plane of the Year for its X-Cub. Diamond Aircraft (Diamond DA62 twin) and Just Aircraft (SuperSTOL) also earned recognition for noteworthy achievements.
Learn more at Piper Aircraft.
