Piper is demonstrating two aircraft from its range here at the LABACE show: a Seneca V and a Meridian. The display is being undertaken in conjunction with J.P. Martins Aviacão, the authorized local Piper dealer.

“Brazil is on a path to economic development, solidifying its place in the global aviation marketplace,” remarked the dealership’s founder, João Paulo Martins. “As the largest Piper dealer in the world, J.P. Martins is positioned to take full advantage of the growing popularity of Piper airplanes in Brazil.” The company was established in 1965 and operates a maintenance center here in São Paulo. The center includes a parts department that serves all regions of Brazil.

While Piper and J.P. Martins are here to promote the entire Piper range, the Seneca and Meridian were selected specifically to represent the wider family. “Piper has had great success in this market,” said Drew McEwen, Piper’s v-p of marketing and sales, “and the two aircraft on display are particularly suited to the geography and terrain of the world’s fifth most populous country.”

The Meridian is the top of Piper’s PA-46 Malibu-based M-class line. It seats six in comfort and its 500-shp Pratt & Whitney PT6A-42A turboprop engine gives it a cruising speed of up to 260 ktas and a range of up to 1,000 nm. A Garmin G1000 avionics suite is fitted. Other members of the M-class are the piston-engine Mirage and Matrix, the latter being unpressurized.

Of course, the PA-34 Seneca is already a very familiar shape here in Brazil, where 876 of earlier models were built under license by Embraer as the EMB-810. The Seneca V on display here is the current incarnation of the highly popular light twin, and represents Piper’s Twin Class family, which also includes the T-tailed PA-44 Seminole. The Seneca V’s two 220-hp Continental TSIO-360-RB engines offer a 197 ktas maximum cruise, and the aircraft is also equipped with a Garmin G1000 avionics suite with a three-screen display.