Piper Brings Garmin G1000 to Meridian

Piper Aircraft has achieved FAA certification for the Garmin G1000 avionics system aboard the Meridian six-place single-engine turboprop, an airplane originally certified with the Meggitt Magic EFIS and later upgraded to the Avidyne Entegra cockpit. The list price for a new Meridian with the Garmin cockpit is $2.071 million versus $2.021 million for the airplane with the Entegra suite. Garmin’s synthetic-vision technology (SVT) software is standard in the G1000-equipped Meridian. SVT presents a 3-D depiction of terrain, obstacles and traffic on the PFD so that the image replicates what pilots would see outside the cockpit on a clear day. The G1000 system for the Meridian is WAAS capable and features a 15-inch-diagonal MFD flanked by two 10.4-inch PFDs, GFC 700 autopilot and GWX 68 weather radar. Options include XM satellite weather and a class-B terrain awareness and warning system.