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What can be learned from Piper Fury and Part 23 revision?

Piper M700 FURY

A long tortuous trail towards allowing greater innovation in developing and certificating Normal, Utility, Acrobatic, and Commuter Category Airplanes has been in place for 10 years. Does the Piper announcement of its new, innovative Piper M700 FURY (see below for detailed technical description by Piper) signal an improvement in the processing of this aircraft?

HISTORY

Background and Timeline:

  1. 2009: A joint FAA and industry team produced the Part 23 Certification Process Study (CPS), which recommended reorganizing Part 23 based on performance and complexity rather than weight and propulsion divisions.
  2. 2010: The FAA conducted a Part 23 Regulatory Review, confirming strong support for the CPS recommendations.
  3. 2011: The Part 23 Reorganization Aviation Rulemaking Committee (ARC) echoed the CPS sentiments.
  4. January 7, 2013: Congress passed the FAA Modernization and Reform Act of 2012, requiring an assessment of aircraft certification and approval processes.
  5. September 24, 2013: FAA rulemaking efforts began on the Part 23 NPRM.
  6. November 27, 2013: Congress passed the Small Airplane Revitalization Act of 2013, mandating a final rule revision for small airplanes.
  7. The Part 23 NPRM addresses requirements from both acts1.

Certification Standards Under Existing Framework:

  1. Currently, for a manufacturer to obtain a type certificate for a typical general aviation airplane, the applicant’s design must comply with the standards set forth in Part 23.
  2. Compliance can be demonstrated in two ways:
    • Specific Prescriptive Provisions: The applicant shows compliance with the detailed provisions in Part 23 (e.g., structure, powerplant, landing gear).
    • Equivalent Safety: The applicant demonstrates that their design meets safety requirements even if it deviates from specific regulatory standards1.

Recent Changes:

  1. The Part 23 Rewrite has taken effect, allowing manufacturers to employ consensus standards to meet airworthiness requirements instead of the FAA’s prescriptive rules.
  2. Proposed revisions include more flexibility in regulations governing crash testing, focusing on safety as a whole rather than individual components.”

So, what does the public record show? First, it is significant that Piper holds a TC ODA, meaning they can approve Type Certification data as a designee, same as a DER but broader of course. A DER is limited to specific disciplines, a TC ODA has depth and breadth.

What does the M700 certification basis say?

A translator of the arcane jargon says that Part 23 Amendment 23-62, the above referenced Part 23 revision, was cited as the recipe for the Piper M700 Fury. That means that Piper, through its TC ODA, first demonstrated compliance with the specific prescriptive provisions set forth in Part 23 for each aspect of the design (e.g., structure, powerplant, landing gear). Second, the applicant may demonstrate that its design should be exempt from the particular regulatory standard or that it provides an EQUIVALENT LEVEL OF SAFETY for other reasons.

The public record[1] does not reveal the date of Piper’s initial application, but the announcement of the final TC was March 4, 2024. The TCDS does not cite the dates of the reported steps.

The Revised Part 23 TC program, according to the translator, does not really expedite the process to the expectations of the CPS, ARC and Congress. The applicant’s proposal might benefit by its choice of process—i.e. taking it through familiar territory.

The announcement of the Piper M700 FURY is exciting from a number of technical performance dimensions, but its public TC history does not demonstrate that the Part 23 prescription/performance approach expedited its certification. This may reflect that the Aircraft Certification Branch is not yet fully comfortable with this Sea change or that post Max 8/10, the field staff is going to be more cautious.




VERO BEACH, FL, February 6, 2024 – Piper Aircraft, Inc. announced today a new model in its PA46 line of high-performance aircraft—the Piper M700 FURY—a single-engine, 700 shaft horsepower, cabin-class turboprop.

The Piper M700 FURY represents the first step towards a new generation of the M-Class family, outperforming past PA46 models and several competitive aircraft in performance, operational cost efficiencies, and overall value. Powered by the Pratt & Whitney PT6A-52 engine, the M700 FURY boasts a maximum cruise speed of 301 ktas with a max range of 1,149 nm / 1,849 km (at max cruise speed, 1,424 nm at normal cruise speed) while maintaining its Basic Med compliant 6,000-pound MGTOW limit.

At a 301-knot max cruise speed, the M700 FURY stands alone as THE FASTEST SINGLE-ENGINE AIRCRAFT IN PIPER’S ENVIABLE 87-YEAR, 134,000 unit production history, and it’s the second fastest model of all time. Only the mighty Piper Cheyenne 400LS turbine twin is faster.

Key performance highlights in different phases of flight include:

  • Take-off Performance – TOFL distance over a 50’ obstacle at SL, STD day MGTOW is a classleading 1,994 ft., representing a 641 ft., 24 percent improvement when compared to the M600 SLS that it replaces. That TOFL performance is also 1,198 ft. (38 percent) shorter than a competing single-engine jet.
  • Initial Climb – after a MGTOW departure, the M700 enjoys a class-leading 2,048 fpm climb rate, 32 percent better than the M600.
  • Climb to Altitude – settled into the climb, the M700 FURY reaches a comfortable FL250 in 13.9 minutes (34 percent quicker than the M600) after covering a short 34-mile distance (35 percent less distance than prior) while only burning 97 lbs. of fuel (25 percent less fuel than the M600 and nearly 50% less fuel than a single-engine jet competitor).
  • Cruise – 301-knot max cruise speed.
  • Landing Performance – Landing over a 50 ft. obstacle, the M700 FURY continues its classleading performance, achieving a 26 percent reduction versus the M600 and within half the ground roll distance of some competitors.

“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 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.”

Airframe changes to accommodate the more powerful engine include a redesigned, more efficient intake plenum that improves ram air recovery, new engine mount assemblies and an improved exhaust stack design that maximizes residual thrust.

The M700 FURY features GARMIN’S G3000® AVIONICS SYSTEM—a touchscreen-controlled glass flight deck. The G3000 avionics suite is the most sophisticated Garmin technology available and offers the most comprehensive, intuitive and technologically advanced package in today’s market. It all comes standard in the M700 FURY along with THE HALO SAFETY SYSTEM (including Garmin’s Autoland technology) that was first certified in the M600/SLS.

The new model will retain GARMIN’S PLANESYNC™ TECHNOLOGY, which includes a 4G LTE Cellular and WiFi® datalink that enables new avionics capabilities to streamline an aircraft owner’s pre-flight and post-flight activities. Piper is also first-to-market with Garmin’s remote aircraft status capability enabling owners to remotely check the fuel quantity, aircraft location, oil temperature, battery voltage, the current METAR at the aircraft’s location and more via the Garmin Pilot™ application. PlaneSync technology also automatically downloads databases wirelessly while the aircraft is powered down and the owner is away from the aircraft.

This new aircraft includes six (6) new interior schemes, featuring new leathers and aesthetically styled seats that have been thoughtfully crafted with the customer in mind.

FAA certification for the aircraft will be achieved before the end of Q1, 2024 with deliveries starting immediately thereafter. International validations for Canada, EASA, the UK, and Brazil will be achieved in the second half of 2024, with customer deliveries in those regions before the end of the year.


[1] A call to Piper’s press office to get that date was not returned.



Sandy Murdock

Sandy Murdock

Head writer, Sandy Murdock, was former FAA Chief Counsel and FAA Deputy Administrator. Also NBAA’s former Sr. VP Administration and General Counsel.

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