Piper PA-46 Malibu and M-Series
.jpg) Piper PA-46 Malibu and M-Series. Photo: Alec Wilson from Solihull, United Kingdom, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons
| |
| Make | Piper |
|---|---|
| Model | Piper PA-46 Malibu and M-Series |
| Type | Light aircraft |
| Country |  United States
|
| First flight | 30 November 1979 |
| Built | 1979—present |
| Status | In production |
| Number built | 1,000 (as of early 2024) |
| Registered in the US | 1,598 (FAA register, October 30, 2026)
|
| More aircraft · For sale | |
The Piper PA-46, today sold as the Piper M-Class and earlier as the Malibu, Malibu Mirage, Malibu Meridian and Matrix, is a family of six-seat, single-engine airplanes built by Piper Aircraft of Vero Beach, Florida. The 20th-century airplanes all had piston engines (today's M350); turboprop versions are the M500 (formerly the Malibu Meridian), M600 and M700 Fury.[1] In the U.S. there are 1,598 with a valid registration.[2]
As of 2026 the M350 is the only pressurized piston airplane in production, with a range of 1,343 nmi, and the insurance industry rates it among the safest single-engine airplanes.[1]
History
Work began in the late 1970s, and the PA-46-300T prototype first flew on November 30, 1979. Piper announced it in November 1982, apparently to compete with Cessna's pressurized P210 Centurion. The original Malibu was the third pressurized single-engine piston airplane, after the Mooney M22 and the Cessna P210, but has stayed in production far longer. It was certified in September 1983, and 404 were built with Continental TSIO-520 engines.[1]
- Malibu Mirage (1988): a more reliable and powerful Lycoming engine; today's M350.[1]
- Malibu Meridian (2000): the first turboprop version; today's M500.[1]
- Matrix (2008–2015): an unpressurized version.[1]
- M600 (2016): a longer-range turboprop, and the M700 Fury, announced in February 2024.[1]
Registered in the United States
The FAA register lists 1,598 of these airplanes with a valid U.S. registration. Here they are by the model name the FAA uses.[2]
| FAA model name | Registered |
|---|---|
| PA 46-350P | 653 |
| PA46-500TP | 368 |
| PA-46-310P | 213 |
| PA-46-600TP | 185 |
| PA46R-350T | 101 |
| PA-46-701TP | 77 |
| PA46-350T | 1 |
Photos
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Piper PA.46R-350T Matrix OO-JDB (c/n 4692123) at Antwerp International Airport. Photo: Ad Meskens, CC BY-SA 3.0 -
Piper PA-46 Malibu and M-Series. Photo: Tomás Del Coro from Las Vegas, Nevada, USA, CC BY-SA 2.0 -
Piper PA-46 Malibu and M-Series. Photo: Matti Blume, CC BY-SA 4.0 -
Piper PA-46 M350 (VH-NCA) at Wagga Wagga Airport. Photo: Bidgee, CC BY-SA 3.0 au -
Cockpit of a Piper M600/SLS at EBACE 2023 at Palexpo, Le Grand-Saconnex. Photo: Matti Blume, CC BY-SA 4.0 -
Piper Meridian M500 LV-KIR en el Aeropuerto Internacional de Posadas. Photo: Horacio Cambeiro, CC BY 3.0 -
2024 Piper PA-46 M700 Fury N701FY at Frederick Municipal, Airport, Maryland, USA. Photo: Acroterion, CC BY-SA 4.0
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All photos are from Wikimedia Commons; click a photo for its full credit and license.
Buying a Piper PA-46 Malibu and M-Series
Sources
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 1.6 Wikipedia, "Piper PA-46", read November 1, 2026. Airplane Wiki's text is written in its own words; facts are checked against this article and its sources.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 Federal Aviation Administration, Releasable Aircraft Database, file dated October 30, 2026. Valid registrations of fixed-wing airplanes whose FAA maker and model names belong to this family. Airplane Wiki uses only counts from this file, never owner names or addresses.