Turbocharged Aircraft Receives TC in Seven Months
New Piper President and
CEO Chuck Suma has announced that the FAA has awarded the
company with the Type Certificate for the Piper 6XT. The TC
was issued just seven months after project launch. The announcement
was made at Piper's Worldwide Dealer Meeting.
"Our team's experience and the excellent working relationship we
have with the FAA allowed us to obtain this certificate in such
short time," Suma (pictured below) told the 200 dealers and key
staff from around the world. "We are pleased to bring this aircraft
to market in a remarkably short period of time. Coupled with the
six months it took us to bring the 6X through certification and to
market, we are achieving world-class timing on moving aircraft from
concept to customer."
The Piper 6XT is the turbocharged fixed-gear version of the
popular six-place Saratoga II aircraft. The Piper 6X - which
was certified in July of this year - is its normally aspirated
equivalent. New Piper claims that both aircraft represent
excellent value and top-notch performance at an extremely
competitive price.
"Pilots are looking for a high-utility airplane with terrific
value," Suma told the dealers, "and these two new aircraft provide
uncompromised performance at boldly competitive prices. They
are another example of how New Piper - even in the face of a very
tough economy - continues to pursue new technology, innovation and
new product advancements."
Suma is in an Orlando meeting with Piper's worldwide dealer
family to chart the company's strategic direction, to set next
year's sales projections and to brief Team Piper on future product
development and marketing plans. John Gallo, New Piper Vice
President, Product Operations, described the certification schedule
as demanding, but highly coordinated.
"Our goal has been to bring these products to market as fast as
possible without compromising safety or quality," he said. The
two aircraft are very competitively priced to meet market demands
and boast top-notch performance and useful load:
- The standard equipped list price of the Piper 6X is $338,400
and the Piper 6XT is $358,400.
- Both the Piper 6X and the Piper 6XT are powered by 300 HP
Lycoming engines giving the aircraft top speeds of 153 kts/283 km/h
and 165 kts/306 km/h respectively.
- For avid fans of the Piper Cherokee 6, which built a solid
reputation for value, utility, performance and reliability, these
new Piper aircraft, with their state-of-the-art avionics packages
and aerodynamic styling, are the modern, powerful equivalent to
their namesake.
- The aircraft are also the modern answer to managing insurance
premiums. The Piper 6X and Piper 6XT are high performance
aircraft that insurance companies will look upon favorably due to
their fixed-gear configurations.
"The Piper 6X and Piper 6XT are fast, long-legged, and have an
excellent useful load capacity, all for a very competitive price,"
says New Piper Director of Sales and Marketing, Molly Martin
Pearce.
Both models comfortably seat six people in a
club-arrangement. The rear seats are equipped with a
quick-release mechanism to allow their removal, leaving seating for
four with increased load carrying capacity.
Piper notes that a typical mission with two adults, two
children, and a little over 300 pounds of active gear such as
mountain bikes, hiking gear, or scuba gear, would be possible for a
trip covering about 680 nm with a one-hour fuel reserve, or
from Albertville, Ala, to Eau Clare, Wis, in just over four and a
half hours, with no stops. Or, four adult men and their golf
clubs and luggage can travel from Albertville, Ala, to
Jacksonville, Fla, (380 nm in about two and a half hours) to
play at TPC Sawgrass, get in 18 holes, and have dinner at the
clubhouse, in the time it would take just to arrive via airline
travel (more than nine hours--possibly longer, depending on what
mood TSA is in...).
International delegates attending this week's dealer
meeting were reportedly delighted to hear that the potential
for these new aircraft is not limited to the US. Specifically,
New Piper's European dealer partners are particularly excited that
the Piper 6XT achieves 300 HP at a low 2500 RPM, making it a
perfect fit for Europe's more stringent noise regulations. The
Piper 6X and Piper 6XT feature optional paint schemes and will be
available in two interior options: durable, lightweight vinyl or an
upgraded, premium leather interior. The New Piper Aircraft, Inc.,
is headquartered in Vero Beach, Fla.