Piper Aircraft has broken through two key markers with the M700 Fury—speed and price.
The OEM’s latest turboprop contender breaks 300 knots, and clocks in at $4.1 million, it announced on Tuesday afternoon in a livestream event. The change instigating the new model number? The introduction of a 700 hp Pratt & Whitney PT6A-52 engine—replacing the flat-rated 600 hp PT6A-42A in the M600. Piper anticipates FAA type certification by the end of the first quarter of this year.
The M700 stays at its 6,000 pounds maximum takeoff weight to comply with Basic Med, as well as retaining the Garmin G3000 integrated flight deck and Halo emergency autoland system—which secured the Collier Trophy as well as FLYING’s Innovation Award in 2021.
READ MORE: We Fly: Piper M600/SLS Halo
Pushing past the specs on the M600/SLS it will replace, the M700 is projected to meet the following targets:
- Maximum range: 1,149 nm at the 301-ktas maximum cruise speed and 1,424 nm at normal cruise speed
- Takeoff distance: 1,994 ft over a 50-ft obstacle, at sea level on a standard—-a 24 percent improvement from the M600 at 2,635 ft under the same conditions
- Departure climb: 2,048 fpm—a 32 percent improvement over the M600—at MTOW
- Time to climb: 13.9 minutes to FL250, covering 34 nm and burning 97 pounds of fuel, all 25 to 35 percent improvements over the M600
- Landing distance: up to a 26 percent reduction in ground roll over the M600
- Garmin’s PlaneSync technology, adding remote aircraft status capability using the Garmin Pilot app, and database downloads while the aircraft is powered down
“The M700 Fury is a beautifully efficient, cross-country thoroughbred that gives our customers a performance-based flight experience with economics never seen before,” said Piper Aircraft’s president and CEO, John Calcagno. “We listened, and we delivered. The M700 Fury encompasses power, performance and the most advanced safety measures available today and an overall value proposition that is extremely compelling to individuals and corporate flight departments alike.”
Customers can choose from six interior schemes with updated leathers and design elements.
Following certification, U.S. deliveries will begin immediately, according to Piper, with validations with Canada, EASA, the U.K., and Brazil on the horizon next. With the sunset of the M600, the M-series now encompasses the M700, M500 turboprop retaining the PT6A-42A at 500 hp, and M350 piston-powered high-performance singles.
Look soon for FLYING’s We Fly pilot report on the M700.
