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.

Groupe Dassault consists of several enterprises beyond Dassault Aviation, including Dassault Systèmes, Le Figaro (media and services), Immobilière Dassault (real estate), Dassault Wine Estates (including Saint-Émilion, France-based Château Dassault), and Artcurial (auction house).

Edelstenne rose to lead the French conglomerate on May 28, 2018, following the death of Serge Dassault. Trappier comes into the position having longtime experience with the company. He served as executive vice president, international directorate, leading the company’s successful bid to sell the Mirage 2000-9 fighter to the United Arab Emirates in 1998, as well as the selection of the Rafale fighter following India’s Medium Multirole Combat Aircraft RFP in 2012.

Trappier graduated from Telecom SudParis academy for engineers and then served in the French Navy as an officer. He joined Dassault Aviation in 1984 as a systems engineer in the business unit’s design department. Currently, he also serves as chairman of Dassault Falcon Jet, and he’s a member of the French Légion d’Honneur and Knight of the Ordre National du Mérite.

Dassault Aviation certified the Falcon 6X in 2023 under Trappier’s leadership and continues development of the Falcon 10X with certification anticipated in 2025.

The post Trappier to Lead Dassault Corporate in 2025 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.

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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 Dassault Mystère 20 launched the era of the purpose-built business jet 60 years ago, on May 4, 1963, in Mérignac, France, beginning the Falcon jet line that would take the U.S. market by storm. 

“The formula has not changed,” said Dassault Aviation’s chairman and CEO Éric Trappier. “Every Dassault aircraft must have superb handling, beautiful lines, and rugged construction. And, of course, it has to provide state-of-the-art comfort.”

Lindbergh’s Endorsement

Dassault celebrates 60 years since the Mystère 20’s first flight throughout 2023—and looks back to the events that surrounded that iconic airplane’s development and success with customers. It was a drop-in visit from Charles Lindbergh that may have sealed the Mystère’s fate. Lindbergh met with Dassault in Bordeaux on behalf of Pan Am, which was looking at the new jet as a cornerstone for its blooming business aviation division.

As history has recorded it, Lindbergh wired Juan Trippe, then CEO of Pan Am, and gave his nod to the Mystère 20: “I’ve found our bird.” Though his visit pushed the first flight from the morning hours to late in the day—at 5 p.m. local time—fortune smiled upon that inaugural mission, flown by test pilots René Bigand and Jean Dillaire. 

Based on the Mirage

The Mystère 20 set the stage for Falcon jets to come with its foundation in Dassault’s strong heritage as a developer of fighters. The company had already gained a serious reputation for its Mirage line, first developed following World War II with the advent of viable turbine engines. 

Dassault had responded to a request from the French government for a light-weight interceptor aircraft, and designed the MD.550 Delta, which first flew on June 25, 1952. The fighter—renamed the Mirage I—achieved Mach 1.3 in level flight a couple of years later, without rocket assistance. In early test flights, beginning in 1951, its predecessor, the MD.452 Mystére I, proved out the 30-degree swept wing and modified empennage, and the Mystère IIA was the first French aircraft to break Mach 1 in a dive in controlled flight on October 28, 1951.

While not quite as fast, the Mystère 20 would seek out speed just like its older sibling. The prototype, powered by General Electric CF700 turbofans, was flown by French pilot Jacqueline Auriol to set the women’s world speed record at the time, on June 10, 1965, beating her previous record in the Mystère IIIC of 2,038 km/h (1,100 knots) or Mach 1.65.

Onto the Falcon

Pan Am ordered 40 of the new business jet, and those aircraft delivered to the U.S. were marketed under the name “Fan Jet Falcon.” The model soon took on the name it would carry forward, the Falcon 20. By 1968, Pan Am had 160 units ordered, becoming the biggest operator. However, it was soon followed by the growing Federal Express, which took on a total of 33 Falcon 20s as it launched its overnight delivery service fleet—before the Boeing 727 and McDonnell Douglas DC-10.

The Falcon 20 deliveries totaled 515 before it was retired in 1993—a 30-year production that formed the basis for several more models in the Falcon family. Next was the smaller Falcon 10 (first produced in 1971, with 226 units delivered) and the larger tri-jet Falcon 50 (launched in 1976, with 352 units delivered).

The Falcons series took a turn into twin jets with the Falcon 900 models first produced in 1984—more than 553 900s have been delivered—and the Falcon 2000 models launched in 1993, with 677 aircraft so far. Dassault returned to the tri-jet configuration for its long-range 7X (first flown in 2005 by Philippe Deleume, with 298 units so far) and the 8X in 2015 (92 units delivered to date). These four lines remain in production, now joined by the twin-jet 6X and 10X.

From the 2,700 Falcons built, more than 2,100 Falcons fly around the world today. 

“Through these different models, we have built up a strong legacy and a solid base of technological know-how that makes us confident in our ability to continue developing new products that fully meet customer expectations,” said Trappier on the occasion. “Sixty years on, Falcons are still completely distinctive in the business jet world: beautiful, delightful to fly, and always on the leading edge of technology, bringing safety, comfort and productivity benefits to operators around the globe.”

The post The First Falcon’s First Flight appeared first on FLYING Magazine.