History
The New Piper Aircraft Corporation has jumped back into the fast singles. After bankruptcy problems and a subsequent reorganization, they needed an aircraft to fit this market. Manufacturers, such as Socata and Pilatus, have high-end single turboprops available. Lower end single engine turboprops like the Cessna P210 Silver Eagle and Beechcraft Bonanza Propjet are mostly conversions. However, a middle of the range plane with speed, space, updated avionics, and a 'reasonable' price had yet to be produced.
In August 1998, Piper's Meridian flew. Piper based the aircraft on its proven piston Malibu airframe. It was a single engine turboprop, powered by a Pratt & Whitney PT6A-42A. The engine was rated at1290 Shaft Horse Power but was derated on the Meridian to give 500shp. The result is an engine able to give full power all the way up to the aircraft's ceiling of 30,000 feet. On the outside, the aircraft resembles the Piper Malibu piston single, but a look under the cowling or in the cockpit and will reveal some very nice changes and improvements. The cockpit of this aircraft is worth noting. Meggitt avionics premiered their new Magic system on this aircraft. A glass cockpit for general aviation had previously been too expensive and impractical, requiring dual and backup systems. Meggitt has introduced a solid state ADAHRS (Air Data Attitude Heading Reference System) that makes a GA glass cockpit possible. I attended the AOPA Expo last October and Meggitt avionics had a large booth. They included very impressive working models and videos showing the system. Most of the interest at the show was for their STCs (Certification for installation) for other aircraft, but the Meridian was also featured. What amazed me most was the smoothness and clarity the displays (more on this later). Behind the cockpit is a four-seat cabin done in leather.
Installation, Display and Documentation
Flight 1 sells the Meridian through their new "Wrapper Version 2.2x" This download, 52 megabytes, is an Ecommerce application that allows the user to enter their purchase information directly into the program. It then validates your credit card information and takes you to the auto install program. Everything is put in place by the auto-installer. You may want to make changes in the Configuration Manager. The plane is then ready to fly."
The included documentation consists of a 117-page manual and a tutorial flight, both in PDF format. The manual is complete, organized, and informative. The plane and panel are not hard to figure out for those fluent in glass cockpit airliners. There is a certain amount of trial and error involved though. For small things such as autopilot modes or pressurization questions, the manual is a must.
The first section of the manual features all of the normal and non-normal procedures and limitations. Included are scanned excerpts from the real limitations section. Actual manuals for the Magic system are linked in the manual. The second half is a thorough explanation of all of the gauges and systems in the panel. Special notes are provided for Flight Simulator differences, such as how the beta range was modeled. Also available at an additional cost is a manual reprinted from the real Piper Meridian. Actual product manuals for the Garmin instruments are also included in PDF format, and work quite well for the multitude of features available on them. Taking the tutorial flight is a good way to begin. It is 15 pages of plain English explanations on how to fly the Meridian.
The Aircraft
Per today's standard, the plane is modeled in Gmax. The aircraft is beautiful to look at from any angle. Perched on the landing gear in a nose down attitude, the plane looks more like a sports car. Slightly swept, long, slender wings give the aircraft low speed stability without sacrificing cruise speed. A look from nose back and you will see how small the cross section really is. Full interior textures are visible through the windows or an open door.
Two texture sets are provided; one in the DXT3 format and another 32 bit. I found the DXT3 textures loaded quicker without causing the simulator to pause. I initially painted my own aircraft (N322CV) but the 32 bit texture load time on a view change was disappointing. The DXT3 textures fixed this. A stutter-free flight is amazing with a complex panel such as this.
Panel
This is the most outstanding part of the package. Certainly many hours of work have gone into creating this piece of art. Flight1's designers have teamed with RealityXP, makers of the Flight Line Avionics Package to create some of the most advanced gauges yet seen in Flight Simulator. (See AVSIM Online's July, 2002 review Flight Line Avionics Package for FS2002. RealityXP premiered their new technology, True Display XP, several months before the release of the Meridian, with a demo of a 737 ADI. I downloaded this and tested it, and it was as smooth as silk. This sparked my interest in future applications of this technology (as on the Meridian). I followed the release schedule eagerly and was pleased when the package was released.
For the main view, the background image really captures the true pilot perspective. Subtle things such as the circuit breakers being visible on the left side provide some depth. The three main Magic screens are visible. Below the engine monitor display is one of the two Garmin 530 Navigators, and below it is the Garmin transponder. On the left side are a slew of switches, indicators and instruments, Two indicators and two switches for auto flight, a standard turn/bank indicator, a Garmin CDI, a pressurization control and a unique FlightCom controller are there.
As I looked around the panel, the view can change over to the right part of the Overhead panel by simply moving the mouse to the right or left edges. Upon loading the configuration editor, I found an option for panel scrolling. This option allowed the use of the mouse to move around different parts of the panel. It resembled the Fly! panels that allow scrolling around the cockpit. This is a nice feature on this panel, specifically for accessing all of the avionics. In case this feature is not used, each panel has arrows to navigate around the panel.
The other views of the panel show the rest of the full annunciator panel. Standby instruments, Airspeed, Attitude and Altitude are available. Combined with the turn and bank indicator they can get you from the clouds back into VFR conditions in case of failure of the displays or the like. Further to the right the rest of the Garmin audio panel and Stec autopilot is visible. There is a Bendix King multifunction display below these, but it is non-functional. Below this are the environmental controls, amp meters, rudder trim and flaps.
A polished metal throttle handle awaits in the throttle popup. Condition, emergency power and trim are abeam the handle. Above is the bleed air handle, which controls the pressurization.
Above all this resides the Overhead panel. There are two sides to this; the left has engine switches and panel lighting, and on the right side, the external lighting and anti/de ice switches. Each switch that is pressed is illuminated with a green light tell you it is on.
Sound
Mike Hambly crafted the sounds for this aircraft. The complete sounds are mixed beautifully. A high pitch start sound greets you when the switch is pressed. After start, the engine settles into a steady turbine purr. As smooth as the panel is, the sounds are also. And with practice, power can be set by ear alone. The external sound is slightly different than normal, lacking the intermeshing of twin props. Full power from the outside sounds a dull roar. The sound set is complete and every stage of flight can be heard. One additional feature, when the the cabin is not pressurized correctly and the plane is taken above a certain altitude, an alarm goes off and a heavy breathing sound through a mask starts. It is a good reason to keep an eye on the cabin altitude gauge.
Flying the Meridian
I picked up the plane in Vero Beach, Florida, the site of the factory. The included tutorial flight is a VFR route from Vero Beach to Miami. The plane loaded quickly and I was met with a panel full of new buttons and switches to explore. My quest for startup began with the kneeboard checklists that told me I had another aid to flight. Included in the package is a FlightCom Digital Voice Recorder/Clock. It comes preloaded with a lady who reads all of the basic checklists. She got me up and running in no time.
The panel, along with the Magic system, comes with RealityXP's Garmin GNS530 navigator. The Garmin works off of the 530 training software that runs in the background whenever you start it. It works exactly like the real thing, interfacing with the Garmin CDI gauge and the Magic Navigation Display CDI. If you haven't flown the Garmin navigator before, it takes several readings to familiarize you with its features. The Garmins do much of what a large transport aircraft's Flight Management Computers would do. After startup, the avionics are turned on and show an initialization page. The Magic ADAHRS system takes only seconds to align, unlike the 3 minutes it would take in the real one.
Taxi and takeoff are easily completed in this virtual cockpit, which shows the gauges as smooth and clear as in the main panel. Because of the long wings, rotation is completed at 85 knots. The plane jumps into the air and initially climbs faster than most comparable turboprop twins. By the end of the runway, you will already be fairly high, with plenty of room if that unexpected failure occurs. Cruise altitude approaches quickly and the autopilot has already been engaged with the 530 flying the departure procedure, hands off from here. The panel includes an older Stec autopilot. Meggitt has recently purchased Stec and has developed a new autopilot for use with their Magic system and newer Meridians.
Once at cruise, the plane accelerates to a quoted maximum of 262 knots. However, like most book values, this speed is hard to reach since it assumes ideal conditions. Either way, the plane is good for 230 knots even with a moderate headwind. Enroute navigation is again accomplished through the 530 and a quick programming of the Vertical Navigation page will show when it is time to begin the descent. Decent and landing is best done without the autopilot. This allows for maximum enjoyment of this aircraft's superb handling characteristics. Whether IFR or VFR, the smooth displays show attitude and heading as if you are looking outside. It makes the approach environment much less cluttered, and a stabilized approach easy to attain. Once established on final the plane flies at a nose high attitude. Flying in the virtual cockpit counters this, but the best view for landing I found was the IFR landing view. This view gives a larger view of the primary flight display, but also a good outside view. At the end of an ILS when the decision height comes up, it is no hassle to change views. Just look and land.
Conclusion
When you team Roger Dial, Mike Hambly, and Steve Small with RealityXP, you can expect great things. This product goes some distance beyond great, taking a state of the art aircraft in the real world and transforming it into one of the most technically advanced general aviation aircraft in Flight Simulator. With modern technologies and an artistic/realistic touch, Flight1 has created an aircraft that cannot be fully appreciated with words alone.
You can see additional screenshots or purchase and download the aircraft here.
What's new...
Flight1 recently released a patch for the Meridian (which has been incorporated in the current Version 1.1) and includes following improvements and more:
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
