Piper's latest entrant into the single-engine turbo-prop race, the M600, received US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) type inspection authority (TIA) last Friday.
TIA means the FAA is now ready to start inspecting the aircraft and its performance in preparation for full type certification.
The FAA granted the TIA following the conclusion of company flight testing, which included more than 1440 hours on three M600 development test aircraft. The three M600s in the flight test fleet demonstrated a max speed of 274 KTAS and a max range of 1441 nm. The performance is greater than the originally planned speed of 260 KTAS and 1200 nm range.
"The M600 test articles have performed flawlessly and have exceeded our expectations," said Piper President and CEO Simon Caldecott. "The additional 14 knots of speed and 241 nm of range is a huge bonus for our customers and further enhances the overall value proposition of the product.
"TIA for the M600 is the culmination of many long hours of work by our entire team, close co-ordination with the FAA, and the backing of our shareholders, our dealers and customers around the world."
The M600 seats six, is powered by a P&W PT6A-42A turbo-prop engine turning out 600 shp and has Garmin G3000 avionics.
Piper Aircraft is targeting final FAA type certification of the M600 in the third quarter, following the completion of certification testing and type design approval by the FAA.