Dave Higdon/VERO BEACH
New Piper Aircraft is examining market needs for a complete family of piston, turboprop and jet-powered aircraft. "We want New Piper to grow, and our product line to expand into a full family of aircraft," says chairman Chuck Suma.
The Vero Beach, Florida-based company is also keen to upgrade the P.28 Warrior, Archer and Arrow piston singles, which continue to sell steadily. Suma, speaking at the roll-out of the Malibu Meridian on 13 August, says that priorities will depend on various factors: identifying, through customer surveys, which niches the new products would fill; the availability of new powerplants that will provide advances in performance, reliability and costs; and its ability to undertake extra projects. "We shall tackle one product at a time," he says.
New Piper is marketing the single-turboprop Malibu Meridian and has 90 orders for the $1.3 million aircraft, due for certification and first deliveries in 2000. "By then, we may see something that interests us in powerplant development [for example, the NASA Williams FJX-2 fan jet and Renault/ Socata's Morane diesel] that we can mate with a new airframe - not before," Suma says.
Source: Flight International
