Piper PA-46

The Piper PA-46 Malibu and Matrix are a family of American light aircraft manufactured by Piper Aircraft of Vero Beach, Florida. The aircraft is powered by a single engine and has the capacity for one pilot and five passengers. Early Malibus were all piston-engined, but a turboprop version, the Malibu Meridian, is also available.

The PA-46 is the third single-engined piston aircraft with a pressurized cabin to reach the market, after the Mooney M22 and Cessna P210 Centurion. It is sold mainly to civilian customers.

Development

Work on the PA-46 began in the late 1970s, with a prototype (the PA-46-300T) first flying on November 30, 1979. The type was announced in November 1982, apparently to compete with Cessna's newest creation of the era, the P210 Centurion. Like the Centurion, the Malibu was to feature cabin pressurization (5.5 psi), a feature not included on the prototype.

Variants

PA-46-310P Malibu

The first example of the initial production version flew in August 1982, and FAA certification was obtained in September 1983. Deliveries started one month later. 404 aircraft with Continental TSIO-520 engines were built before this model was replaced in production by the 350P.

Pennsylvania Route 46

Pennsylvania Route 46 (PA 46) is a 43-mile-long (69 km) state highway located in northern Pennsylvania. The southern terminus of the route is at Pennsylvania Route 120 in Emporium. The northern terminus is at the Bradford Bypass, carrying U.S. Route 219 and Pennsylvania Route 346, in Bradford roughly two miles south of the New York-Pennsylvania border.

History

PA 46 was first signed in 1927, extending from U.S. Route 6 in Smethport north to US 219 in Bradford. The route was extended southward to Emporium in 1928 when the eastern segment of Pennsylvania Route 47, which ran along present-day PA 46 from PA 120 in Emporium to US 6 in Smethport, was decommissioned after only one year of service.

Major intersections

See also

References

External links