Meridian vs TBM 700
- Thread starter mjg407
- Start date
CK
Well-Known Member
We are taking delievery of our sixth Meridian next week. There are a few reasons we went the Meridian route, the main one being that it is American. It is substantially cheaper, had a much more advanced cockpit (at the time, now they are equal), and is more reliable. Parts from Socota (or EDIAS or whatever it is called now) are expensive and can take weeks to be delievered. Our 2004 Meridians only went to the shop once a year for annual and a few times inbetween for turbine washes. 100 hour inspections are not required and the airplane nearly never broke. In the 1400 hours one of our '04s had on it, it only went to the shop for unscheduled MX once.
The performance is awesome. It will make FL280, after a gross weight departure, on a ISA +15 day in 20 minutes. The engine will hold full power up to FL280 and I have never felt the throttle hit the stop, there has always been more power available. At FL280 you will see between 260-275kts depending on the temp, burning between 240-270lbs per hour. At FL210 you will see around 240kts and 290lbs per hour. The Meridian sucks down low, as it does not have a barber pole. You are restricted to 188kts.
There are many downsides to the Meridian. The '01, '02, and some '03 models only have about 350lbs of payload (unless they have the gross wieght increase). The newer Meridian has between 450-650lbs of payload. The cockpit is very hard to get into and will only seat a person that is shorter than 6'4''. The airplane only holds 1140lbs of fuel. Four hours is about the longest you can fly and still land with 250lbs.
The TBM will kill the Meridian on performace and range every time. However, the new one is a million dollars more and even the used ones run a million dollars more than Meridians of the same year. You can get a 2001 Meridian with 700 hours and the gross weight increase for $750,000.
Alex.
The performance is awesome. It will make FL280, after a gross weight departure, on a ISA +15 day in 20 minutes. The engine will hold full power up to FL280 and I have never felt the throttle hit the stop, there has always been more power available. At FL280 you will see between 260-275kts depending on the temp, burning between 240-270lbs per hour. At FL210 you will see around 240kts and 290lbs per hour. The Meridian sucks down low, as it does not have a barber pole. You are restricted to 188kts.
There are many downsides to the Meridian. The '01, '02, and some '03 models only have about 350lbs of payload (unless they have the gross wieght increase). The newer Meridian has between 450-650lbs of payload. The cockpit is very hard to get into and will only seat a person that is shorter than 6'4''. The airplane only holds 1140lbs of fuel. Four hours is about the longest you can fly and still land with 250lbs.
The TBM will kill the Meridian on performace and range every time. However, the new one is a million dollars more and even the used ones run a million dollars more than Meridians of the same year. You can get a 2001 Meridian with 700 hours and the gross weight increase for $750,000.
Alex.
SpiraMirabilis
Possible Subversive
That is an incredibly small useful load. Wow. 1.5 people? 
Inverted
mmmmmm wine
While I have several hours in a Meridian and none in a TBM, I still probably vote the TBM. The meridian is sooo fun to fly, yanks and banks like a fighter. But its slow IMO at low altitudes. 180 is VNE if I can remember. I havent flown any of the G1000 models they have all been Avidyne but find the plane very nicely equipped. One buggaboo was the autopilot. If you carry passengers that autopilot is very jerky, and you have no soft bank half bank options for it. So it can be uncomfortable. If you switch altimeter settings from 29.98 to 29.92 the plane slam dunks its pretty funny for us but PAX not so much.
Inverted
mmmmmm wine
I am 5.6" and its a PITA to get in and out of that cockpit. You might be hitting your head a lot.
CK
Well-Known Member
I worded that poorly. Useful load is 1700 pounds on our newest Meridian. Full fuel payload is between 350 and 600 pounds depending on the plane.
On a 340nm flight, with no winds, and an hour of reserves, you will need 700lbs of fuel. That will leave you with around 1000 pounds for people.
Alex.
mjg407
Well-Known Member
Awesome link. Now anyone got a TBM vs C90 linky? I can't believe they want almost twice the amount a month for a friggin Pilatus.
SurferLucas
Southern Gentleman
I test flew a new TBM-850 for a student that was thinking about buying one (before the damn recession), and WOW. We went to FL280 and were hitting 322 KTAS and about 60-ish gals/hour (i don't feel like doing math right now). It was a sweet airplane, the 850 Flap position was different, as was the upside down airspeed indicator.
Inverted25
Well-Known Member
Never been in a Meridia but the TBM 700 is a awesome plane. There is one based here in the hangar across from our cherokee and I have sat in it a few times and its very roomy. I would love to fly one!
milleR
Well-Known Member
Well, the pc12 has over 4000 lbs useful load. With 1800 lbs of fuel you've got around 4 hours at 260 KTAS with 2200 lbs of people and their crap in the back.
