Today’s Top Pick is a 2016 Piper PA-46R-350T M350.

For many pilots who are looking to step up from their four-seat piston singles, turboprops are the stuff of dreams. Often, though, a turbocharged piston with a pressurized cabin is closer to reality.

Besides, many of us prefer the familiarity and relative budget friendliness of pistons. We just want to fly a bit higher and faster. Piper’s long-running range of PA-46 models was developed with this market in mind.

One of the best things about the PA-46 might be that it was designed to please passengers as much as pilots. Those of us who like to load up our families for long trips know how important it is to keep everyone comfortable and at ease.

A large, smooth-flying aircraft with a roomy six-seat cabin is a good place to start. Adding pressurization means you can operate at 20,000 feet and above without having to breath supplemental oxygen through cannulas—something few passengers enjoy. Turbocharging helps keep the pace high as altitude tries to sap the engine’s power. A robust climate control system can keep just about everyone comfortable.

Like many aircraft, especially complex models, the PA-46 has benefited from continuous improvement during its 40 years on the market, so later models like this M350 have long had the “bugs” worked out.

This 2016 PA-46 M350 has 735 hours on the airframe, its 350 hp Lycoming TIO-540 engine, and Hartzell propeller. The aircraft has a useful load of 1,170 pounds and carries 120 gallons of fuel.

The panel features a Garmin G1000 avionics suite with an Aspen standby EFD 1000, Garmin GTX33ES transponder, GMA 350C audio panel, GWX weather radar, GFC 700 autopilot, Jeppesen Chartview Flite Charts, Synthetic Vision, TAWS-B terrain warning system, Safe Taxi, dual AHRS computers, XM Satellite Weather, and WX500 Stormscope

The aircraft is FIKI-equipped and comes with an automatic wings-level mode, enhanced stability protection, speedbrakes, integrated digital cabin pressurization, air conditioning, pulse oximeter, executive writing table, 110-volt paper outlets, USB outlets, and relief tube.

Pilots who want to treat family and friends to an airline-style experience in a roomy, pressurized cabin traveling in the flight levels should consider this 2016 Piper M350, which is available for $975,000 on AircraftForSale.

If you’re interested in financing, you can do so with FLYING Finance. Use its airplane loan calculator to calculate your estimated monthly payments. Or, to speak with an aviation finance specialist, visit flyingfinance.com.

• FLYING Magazine: Piper Launches M600 and M350
• FLYING Magazine: Garmin’s G1000 NXi Now Certified on Piper M350 and M500
• FLYING Magazine: We Fly: Piper M600/SLS Halo
• Plane & Pilot: Choosing a Six-Seat Single
• Plane & Pilot: Piper Malibu & Cessna 210N, 1978
• The Aviation Consumer: Used Aircraft Guide: Piper PA-46 Malibu/Mirage/Matrix
• AVweb: Aero: Piper’s M-Class Sales Strong, Factory Bulks Up

The post This 2016 Piper PA-46R-350T Is a Stable, Passenger-Pleasing ‘AircraftForSale’ Top Pick appeared first on FLYING Magazine.

Today’s Top Pick is a 2010 Piper PA-46-350T Matrix.

Piper’s PA-46-350T Matrix traces its lineage to the early 1980s, when the company developed and launched the first PA-46 Malibu. At the time, the new aircraft was a departure for Piper and the GA industry overall. There just were not many big, pressurized piston singles available, so the Piper, which also had big-airplane features, such as an airstair door, stood out on the ramp. It remains an attractive step-up aircraft with an impressive presence today.

The Matrix variant of the PA-46 series is unpressurized, but most, including the aircraft for sale here, have supplemental oxygen systems built in and are constructed to fly high where their turbocharged engines and high aspect ratio wings can make the most of the thin air for generating higher cruising speeds. For years I have looked longingly at the generous cabins of PA-46s, which remind me of a small corporate jet, and thought about how much my family would love traveling in one.

This 2010 Piper Matrix has 1,442 hours on the airframe, engine, and propeller. The panel includes the Garmin G1000 avionics suite with synthetic vision, dual 10-inch PFDs, a 15-inch MFD, GDL69A XM Satellite Radio and Weather, dual GIA63W Nav/Com/ILS/WAAS GPS, dual GRS77 Altitude and Heading Reference System (AHRS), dual GDC74A Digital Air Data Computers with Dual Probe System, GTX345R ADS-B Transponder, GFC700 Digital Autopilot with Yaw Damper, WX500 Stormscope, Honeywell KTA-870 Traffic Advisory System, and Garmin TAWS B Terrain Awareness System.

Pilots who wish to step up from a high-performance, four-place retractable to a larger, higher-performance machine with a cabin that will please their passengers should consider this 2010 Piper PA-46-350T Matrix, which is available for $679,900 on AircraftForSale.

You can arrange financing of the aircraft through FLYING Finance. For more information, email info@flyingfinance.com.

• FLYING Magazine: Piper Matrix Flies with the Big Boys
• FLYING Magazine: Garmin Upgrades G1000 to NXi in Piper Meridian
• FLYING Magazine: Piper Aircraft Reports Growth in Q2 Deliveries, Revenue
• Plane & Pilot: Piper Aircraft Announces New Parts Manufacturing at Oshkosh

The post This 2010 Piper PA-46-350T Matrix Is an ‘AircraftForSale’ Top Pick Tailor-Made for Pilots Who Are Stepping Up appeared first on FLYING Magazine.

Today’s Top Pick is a 2012 Piper PA-46-350P Malibu Mirage.

For many newly certificated private pilots, just being able to fly as pilot in command is enough to keep them satisfied—for a while. Soon it becomes clear that while traveling by air is wonderful, traveling a bit faster would be better. Our en route altitudes creep upward as we try to eke out as many knots as possible from our aircraft. Oxygen systems are handy, but some people are uncomfortable wearing cannulas or a mask in flight. Suddenly our need for speed has grown into a need for pressurization.

The aforementioned process is a natural evolution for aviators, and this Piper could be a key component. Its wide, roomy cabin and plush, leather-trimmed adjustable seats give passengers the pressurized comfort and smooth ride associated with high-altitude airline travel without the dreaded cramped, middle-seat experience.

While many piston pilots will tell you their aircraft cruise close to 200 knots or “flirt” with that magic number, this turbocharged Malibu Mirage will reliably take you well beyond. Unlike many models on the used market, this aircraft was designed from the beginning to fly high and fast.

This Piper PA-46-350P Malibu Mirage has 940 hours on its airframe and engine, which has a 2,000-hour TBO. The panel features a Garmin G1000 avionics suite, including dual GDU 1040 10-inch primary flight displays, a single GDU 1500 15-inch multifunction display, dual GIA 63W nav/com/ILS/WAAS GPS units, dual GRS 77 attitude and heading reference systems, GTX33 transponder, GFC 700 autopilot, synthetic vision, and more.

A 2012 Malibu Mirage like this, with a pressurized, air-conditioned cabin, is appealing for several reasons, including the potential value it represents. For many pilots, this airplane offers advanced performance, equipment, and capability compared with new piston models at similar prices. If flying high and fast in pressurized comfort suits your style of travel, you should consider this Malibu Mirage, which is available for $915,000 on AircraftForSale.

You can arrange financing of the aircraft through FLYING Financial Group. For more information, email info@flyingfinancial.com.

• FLYING Magazine: We Fly: Piper M600/SLS Halo
• FLYING Magazine: Piper Malibu: A New Airplane for a New Day
• Plane & Pilot: Piper 1998 PA-46-350P Malibu Mirage
• Plane & Pilot: Flying High Unpressurized
• The Aviation Consumer: Piper PA-46 Malibu/Mirage/Matrix

The post Today’s Top Aircraft For Sale Pick: 2012 Piper PA-46-350P Malibu Mirage appeared first on FLYING Magazine.

The biggest complaint would be that the Matrix was an unblown Mirage. This is largely true, but it’s funny how people are offended when features are subtracted and the price is lowered when they’re not phased at all by features being added and the price ballooning. Would I prefer a Mirage over a Matrix? Sure, if I could afford it, but even then not if I couldn’t buy insurance for it. I pretty much dismissed those complaints. I mean what can you say when people are offended by what a product isn’t? It’s like saying that Diet Coke is a scam because for the same price you can buy Coke and get the sugar included. People have different wants and needs. I say, let the market decide, which is what Piper is doing, and the market seems to be saying, “good call.”

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