The FAA has approved Piper Aircraft’s flagship product, the Piper M600/SLS single-engine turboprop, for operations from unpaved fields. Piper had received numerous requests for unpaved field certification from operators around the world, and announced that kit approval to modify earlier aircraft has also been completed for Canada, the UK, and Europe (EASA).
All 2022 M600/SLS aircraft, starting with serial number 198, are factory provisioned to operate on unpaved fields with the incorporation of Supplement #5 into the approved aircraft Pilot’s Operating Handbook. All 2016- 2021 M600 aircraft equipped with five-blade propellers also have the option to be modified by Piper Kit #88705-702 to accommodate the same unpaved field operations.
The primary kit components include a redesigned nose fork and scissor link to handle unpaved field surface inconsistencies, the installation of a small cut-out allowing the nose wheel to stow properly with the gear retracted, and a POH supplement.
PHOTO: PIPER AIRCRAFT
