Piper PA-46-350P Malibu Mirage

The Piper PA-46-350P Malibu Mirage — sold since 2015 as the M350, and the airplane most people mean when they say "Piper Malibu" today — is the mainstream, still-in-production member of the PA-46 piston family. Piper replaced the original 310P Malibu's Continental TSIO-520-BE with a Lycoming TIO-540-AE2A in 1988, following the accidents documented on the 310P's own page, and the Mirage has been in continuous production ever since — by far the highest-volume PA-46 piston variant, against roughly 400 original 310Ps built across four years.

This page KEEPS the piper-pa46-malibu address that a formerly-conflated page used to describe all three PA-46 piston variants at once. That conflated page's frontmatter already described a 350-hp Lycoming airplane at a 4,340 lb gross weight — this is, and always was, the Mirage, not the original Continental Malibu its common_name field once claimed and not the unpressurized Matrix its own Variants table also listed. Rather than move this session's best-sourced, highest-traffic page to a new address, the fix keeps its id, corrects common_name, model, variant and family to agree with what the frontmatter has always actually described, and gives the 310P and the Matrix their own new, separately-sourced pages: see piper-pa46-malibu-310p and piper-pa46-matrix. No inbound link needs repointing and no SPLIT_REDIRECTS entry is added, because this id was never retired.

The core value proposition has not changed across four decades: a pressurized sea-level cabin at flight levels up to 25,000 ft, six seats, and genuine cross-country range in the 1,000+ nm class on one piston engine, at dramatically lower operating cost than stepping up to a turboprop. It remains the only piston single in continuous production offering this combination.

Why this page's frontmatter describes the LATE (4,340 lb) block, not the early one. TCDS A25SO's own Section II carries two parallel weight blocks — 4,300 lb pre-S/N-4636196 and 4,340 lb from S/N 4636196 on — and the 350P line has run continuously from 1988 to today. The overwhelming majority of the roughly 2,000+ Mirages built carry the later block, satisfying runbook rule 23's majority test. Piper's own archived 2007 factory specification sheet — the best single source this session found, giving weights, dimensions, cruise speed and runway distances all from one internally-consistent document — also describes the 4,340 lb configuration. The AOPA fact sheet's 1989 column (2,790 lb empty / 1,510 lb useful load) describes the EARLY, pre-bump block and is used only for the fields it is the sole source for (stall speeds, climb rate), never mixed into this page's weight figures.

The M350 (2015-present) is the current-production name for the identical TCDS model — no new certificate section, no new type certificate, just an avionics-generation change (Garmin G1000 NXi / GFC 700 in place of the Avidyne Entegra this page's 2007-sourced weights and performance describe). Per the splitting rule's own guidance ("avionics generations... share a page"), the M350 stays on this page as a Variants-table row rather than getting its own — but its own weights, cruise figures and current list price were NOT independently re-verified this session (no current Piper pricing/specs page was reached), so this page's frontmatter should be read as describing the 2007-era, pre-NXi late Mirage specifically, not the brand-new M350.

213 KTAS is Piper's own "high-speed cruise power" figure, at "mid-cruise weight, optimum altitude" — no percent-power or specific altitude is stated. This is deliberately NOT paired with the 1,345 nm range figure on the same factory sheet, because that range is stated at a DIFFERENT setting, "Long Range Cruise Power" — Piper's own document describes two different flights, and pairing them as one row (as the pre-existing version of this page did, storing cruise_speed_ktas: 213 beside range_nm: 1343) is exactly the mismatched-triple trap runbook rule 3 and the field-sources doc's Cirrus example both warn about. This page stores the 213 kt cruise speed alone and records the 1,345 nm long-range figure here in prose, correctly labelled: at long-range cruise power, full fuel and IFR reserves, Piper's own figure is 1,345 nm. A maximum-speed figure of 220 KTAS ("TAS at mid-cruise weight") is also published and likewise recorded here rather than in frontmatter, for the same reason.

No fuel burn (GPH) is published anywhere reached this session, at any setting — a real gap in this page's cost-to-own numbers, and one that would require an actual POH to close (see the confidence note in this session's final report).

The pressurization system holds a 5.5 psid differential, giving a sea-level cabin to roughly 13,000 ft and an 8,000-ft cabin at the airplane's 25,000-ft certificated ceiling — both TCDS A25SO and Piper's own factory sheet state 25,000 ft is the maximum APPROVED altitude for this model, not merely a typical operating ceiling.

Best-rate climb of 1,275 fpm (AOPA, 1989 figures) is unchanged in this page's sourcing for the later block — no later-model climb figure was found, and the 1989 figure is used because no borrow-across-block issue applies to a climb rate the way it does to weight (climb performance is closer between the two weight blocks than useful load is, though not identically so; flagged as a genuine limitation rather than silently treated as exact).

Full fuel (120 gal / 720 lb):

• Useful load: 1,218 lb (this page's reconciled figure — see derived:)
• Remaining for people and baggage with full fuel: 498 lb — roughly two adults with baggage.
• Range at long-range-cruise power: 1,345 nm (Piper's own figure, NOT paired with this page's stored 213 kt cruise speed — see Performance Notes for why).

As with every PA-46 piston, "six seats and long range" cannot be achieved simultaneously — filling all six seats requires substantially reduced fuel and a correspondingly shorter leg. This page's lower reconciled useful load compared with the unpressurized Matrix (1,218 lb against 1,403 lb, both derived the same way from each model's own 2007 factory sheet against the same 4,340 lb gross weight) is the direct, certi- ficate-confirmed cost of carrying the pressurization system.

The Mirage's avionics ecosystem spans the type's full production run:

Early Mirage (1988-c. mid-1990s, pre-bump 4,300 lb block): King Silver Crown stack, later commonly retrofitted with Garmin GNS 430W/530W.

Mid-era Mirage (this page's sourced era, 2007 factory-standard): Avidyne FlightMax Entegra flat-panel PFD/MFD, dual Garmin GNS-430 WAAS navigators, S-TEC 55x autopilot with flight director, GTX-330 Mode S transponder with traffic — per Piper's own 2007 factory equipment list.

Late Mirage / M350 (S/N 4692134-equivalent block and later per TCDS, and current production): Garmin G1000/G1000 NXi integrated glass cockpit with GFC 700 three-axis autopilot, standard on the current M350 — not independently re-verified this session, carried forward from the pre-existing page.

JetPROP DLX / DL Turboprop Conversion

Rocket Engineering's PT6A-34/35 (DLX, 1998-present) or PT6A-21 (DL, 2003-present) conversion, originally developed for the 310P airframe (see that page) and equally applicable to the Mirage. Not independently re-verified this session; carried forward from the pre-existing page: boosts cruise toward 265-270 KTAS, reduces takeoff-over-50-ft distance to roughly 1,000 ft, and burns roughly 33 GPH of Jet-A. Conversion cost historically quoted around $400,000 plus the donor airframe.

Malibu Aerospace Products and Speed Modifications

Speed fairings, gap seals, cooling and pressurization-system enhancements are available from Malibu Aerospace and others; not independently re-verified this session.

Parts Availability: Good

Piper factory parts support from Vero Beach remains active for the entire PA-46 piston line, and this is by far the highest-volume variant. Lycoming supports the TIO-540-AE2A fully. PMOPA facilitates parts exchange and technical knowledge sharing among owners.

Mechanic Familiarity: Specialized

Not a general-practice A&P's airplane — turbocharged, pressurized systems need type-specific expertise. Several named PA-46 specialty shops appear in enthusiast literature; not independently re-verified this session.

Piper's own 2007 list price for a standard-equipped Mirage was $1,141,500 (F.A.F. Vero Beach) — recorded as price_new_usd, explicitly labelled as a 2007 figure and NOT re-verified as today's price; current (2026) M350 list price is understood to be materially higher, but no current Piper pricing/specs page was reached this session.

No Vref/Aircraft Bluebook access was available this session (see raw/market/market-piper-pa46-piston-pricing-2026-09-08.md); the used-market band above ($280,000-$900,000, typical $475,000) is a dated, single-sourced fallback estimate spanning the type's full 1989-2015-and-ongoing production run — a much wider band than a narrower-production model would carry, simply because "Mirage" covers three decades of steam-gauge through G1000-NXi airplanes. Engine time remains the single biggest variable within any given avionics generation: a mid-time TIO-540-AE2A overhaul runs toward the specialty-shop figure this page stores ($58,000 per reference/engine-overhaul-pricing.md), corrected from this page's own prior, uncited $75,000.

A data-quality note for whoever next touches this page's auto-synced listings block (not corrected in this session, since editing that block is outside a research pass's scope): several rows in the "Current Listings" section below are titled "PIPER MALIBU MERIDIAN" or "PIPER PA46-500TP MERIDIAN" and priced at $995,000-$1,750,000 — those are the turboprop Meridian/M500, which belongs on piper-m-class, not this piston page. The listing-sync matcher appears to key on the shared "Malibu"/"Meridian" marketing name rather than the model designation, which materially inflates this page's own "Market snapshot" average.

The Engine Change That Defines This Model

This model's entire reason for existing is the 310P's Continental engine failure history, documented with a primary citation on piper-pa46-malibu-310p — Piper switched to the Lycoming TIO-540-AE2A in 1988 specifically because of it. That history is the 310P's story, not this model's; nothing in this session's research turned up an equivalent Lycoming-specific engine defect for the TIO-540-AE2A on this model.

What this page does NOT claim, and the previous conflated page did: a specific 1991 FAA emergency Airworthiness Directive grounding all Malibu/ Mirage IFR flight was NOT independently verified this session (no working general web search, and the FAA DRS client used for the type certificate does not reach the AD database). It may be real — it is widely repeated in enthusiast literature — but this page does not restate it as fact without a primary citation. Consult the FAA's ADIRS system directly for a specific airframe's current AD status.

Common Maintenance Issues (not independently re-verified this session; carried forward)

• Turbocharger management: twin turbochargers require careful temperature management; turbocharger overhaul historically quoted at $5,000-$8,000 per side.
• Pressurization system: door seals, outflow valve and controller maintenance; annual pressurization-specific costs historically quoted at $2,000-$5,000.
• Landing gear, fuel system and corrosion: standard PA-46 items, shared with the Matrix and (for gear/corrosion) the 310P.

Pre-Buy Essentials

Full AD compliance review, borescope compression check on all six cylinders, turbocharger condition and history, pressurization system leak check and controller test, landing gear rigging and actuator condition, and a complete logbook review. Budget $5,000-$10,000 for a thorough PA-46-experienced pre-buy.

One of the more expensive piston singles to insure, reflecting high hull values, complex systems, and (for the type as a whole, including its earlier Continental-powered years) accident history. Not independently re-verified this session; carried forward from the pre-existing page:

Qualified pilots (3,000+ TT, 1,500+ retractable/turbocharged, 100+ hours in type, annual recurrent training): full hull + liability historically quoted $7,300-$14,200/year.

Less qualified / transitioning pilots: full hull + liability historically quoted $12,500-$34,000/year; some underwriters require 25-50 hours of dual instruction in type before solo coverage.

Annual recurrent training through PMOPA (the Piper M-Class Owners & Pilots Association, formerly MMOPA — founded 1988, per its own site; see raw/press/pmopa-org-identity-2026-09-08.md) is typically required or strongly rewarded for favorable rates. See GA Insurance Underwriting for general factors.