Every Pilot Wants More Useful Load, And Piper Provides 242 more pounds of it in its new Meridian single-engine turboprop, thanks to an increase in maximum takeoff weight. And the company also switched to the new Meggitt Magic 1500 autopilot that offers the performance and features a pilot expects in a turbine airplane. When Piper introduced the Meridian in 2001 it had a 4,850 pound maximum takeoff weight, which was capped at that level by the FAA requirement that single-engine airplanes stall at 61 knots or less at maximum certified weight With more than 1,000 shaft horsepower available from the Pratt & Whitney PT6A42A engine, power to lift more weight was never a question. The Meridian wing and other primary structure also had the heft to carry extra weight. But the stall speed rule was limiting what the Meridian could carry. Piper had a couple of choices available to increase the takeoff weight of the Meridian. One was to demonstrate improved crashworthiness to get a couple extra knots added to the maximum stalling speed. Socata had achieved this with its TBM 700, and Pilatus had done the same with its PC-12. The other option available was to reduce the stalling speed so the air-plane could carry more weight up to the 61-knot maximum.
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