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.

FMI: www.newpiper.com