One owner told me that the STC covers only the Avidyne version, so as the G1000 population displaces the Avidyne population, there will eventually not be any airframes left in a reasonable condition and with supported avionics.
Is there some fundamental reason why the STC cannot cover the G1000 version? Or is it Garmin refusing to allow the G1000 to be used on the Jetprop-converted airframe and, if so, can they even do that? I recall reading of a G600 STC for some turboprop which was done totally without Garmin co-operation.
How is the conversion business going? Is it a steady business, with new conversions still being done?
Also are the more recent airframes stronger? One persistent thing about the Jetprop, especially coming from Piper Meridian and TBM dealers 
, is that the rivets in the tail keep falling out, etc, etc…
I think Piper is not allowing Garmin to approve the G1000 versions.
I think eventually a lot of the older Mirages will be converted. And they will end up with G950s etc.
While I am more a Meridian fan, the structural arguments about the Jetprop are not true.
There was this whole debacle where Beechcraft could not update their latest aircraft to ADS-B etc on the G1000 or something. That’s because in that case, the G1000 was part of the certification on Beechcrafts end and Textron has no money to keep a software staff employed. The result is that the latest Beech’s can not be upgraded as of now. Might be something similar going on here.
I also wouldn’t count out Avidyne at all. They’re smaller for sure, but they’re taking away more and more sales from Garmin with their new units. There was a thread on BT about it and I was surprised at how many had gone Avidyne over Garmin. I chose Avidyne myself, even though I was dead set on Garmin initially. They just offer a better product with more features at the moment. Garmin is getting close to monopoly and are very comfortable today, which is never good for customers or innovation.
G 1000 has a lot of owners over a barrel when it comes to upgrades. I’d have to say that fine avionic suite that it is, I am really glad I don’t have to deal with it as an owner. The Beech saga is only one example.
The other one is Mooney, where the WAAS upgrade for the G1000 equipped planes was not available for several years and then was finally forthcoming for HUGE money. I belive 25k was the sum I have heard… horrendous.
Well, sorry to say this, but I got my 50 year old plane upgraded to WAAS for a relatively pedestrian 2000 Euros I think it was and it was a question of pulling the unit out and putting it back in a few days later and changing the antenna. At the same time, a G1000 equipped DA40 near us was still waiting and spent a sizable fraction of their hull value.
Makes me think that if I ever upgrade to a plane which can be had with either variant, I’d go for ANY but the G1000. E.g. Avidyne Cirrus, Jet Prop or steam gauges Ovation.
As for the Jet Prop, I still think it is by far the cheapest and best way into the turboprop class. Some can be had for less than half a million these days and it would probably be my way to go were I to win those elusive Euromillions. Sales reps will tell such lies but those are the ones who will never sell me an airplane. Well, thankfully I don’t need the help of such people anyhow.
Talking about the Jetprop, I understand the attraction is that it is <2000kg and therefore not subject to Eurocontrol charges vs the Meridian which has a MTOW > 2000kg.. however I see on the EASA website that the Meridian is listed as <2000kg for the purposes of charging:
https://www.easa.europa.eu/download/easa-product-lists/EASA-PRODUCT-LIST-Small-Aeroplanes.pdf
Is this correct?
If you do a search for e.g.
meridian AND 1999kg
you get loads of hits – e.g. here
There is apparently an STC for the Meridian, apparently not recognised by EASA so you have to be N-reg, but the plane is over the new 1999kg MTOW even sitting empty on the ground, with full tanks!
@eal here is an expert on this subject of the Jetprop 
Yes clearly the MTOW is >2000kg but the EASA table doesn’t talk about MTOW(M) but rather: “applicable fees and charges category”….but I guess it is Eurocontrol, not EASA who decide the charges anyway…it would certainly undermine the value of the Jetprop if the (apparent) EASA view was applied by Eurocontrol!i
There are other “value points” to the Jetprop. One is that it is ridiculously overpowered which means take off and climb performance are astounding. Another is that it consumes a lot less fuel during taxi and low level flight than the Meridian.
On the downside, it’s not designed as a turbine from the ground up, so some are questioning the adequacy of its rudder etc. Owners seem completely ecstatic about their plane though, in a way that Mirage and Meridian owners don’t seem to be; I guess that means something.
The Jetprop also has loads more range – something like 1500nm to zero fuel, IIRC from looking into it a while ago. Setting aside the “my bladder only lasts for 1.5hrs” position (which is untenable for going anywhere, anyway, unless you like flying an ILS in OVC002 with a bursting bladder) this represents huge value because you can stop in places where you actually want to be.
I have changed the thread title to refer specifically to the G1000. Can anyone explain why the Jetprop STC cannot cover a G1000 PA46 airframe? An STC does not need the stamp of approval of an airframe or (unrelated) avionics manufacturer.
Maybe the issue lies in the G1000 being used to display engine parameters? That would be a problem then. You would have to remove the G1000 and put in something else. What is the regulatory path for removing a G1000?
@eal @jesse or @wigglyamp might know.
Peter wrote:
There is apparently an STC for the Meridian, apparently not recognised by EASA so you have to be N-reg, but the plane is over the new 1999kg MTOW even sitting empty on the ground, with full tanks!
Not quite but it is hard to fly the plane at that weight if you want to take any passengers or go long distance. I can assure you EASA charges IFR enroute charges for the Meridian but some owners have been able to declare sub 2000kg. It is unclear to me of that is done with Piper support or not.
