Malibu Mirage: I picked up the 100th JetProp

By Mac Lewis

I arrived just before Christmas, on Monday December 16 to pick up my JetProp. The week culminated on Friday afternoon, December 20th with a celebration. JetProp, LLC and Rocket Engineering founders Darwin Conrad and Jeanie Sadler were throwing a party for their employees, business partners, friends, and JetProp owners. They were celebrating the delivery of JetProp #100. That's my plane.

The transition from a piston to a TurboProp is a thrill. The plane is a beauty. And, naturally JetProp #100 is an exciting milestone for the JetProp team and organization.

TurboProp Flying

WOW! I had done TurboProp demo rides. But, I was not prepared for the first ride in the left seat - and this was just in the FlightSafety simulator.

OK, let's see . Bring power up gently. There, that's about right. Ooops, I'm going over 80, ROTATE! Boy, look at that climb rate - wait, GET THE NOSE UP! 130 is max gear-up speed. There, gear in-transit. Oh no! Busting the assigned altitude! . Talk about being behind the plane.

I've had plenty of Malibu time and I was soon flying the simulator pretty well. The simulator provided good experience with emergencies and routine. And now, after the factory hands-on program I am comfortable in the plane. Ahead of it most of the time and with it occasionally. As with most flying certifications and qualifications, I am now ready for continued learning.

I write this just after bringing JetProp #100 home and with about 35 hours actually flying it. What a great plane - I'm delighted. I'd like to share my sense of wonder and excitement of a transition to TurboProp flying. An experience I would guess I share with new owners/pilots of any TurboProp. In terms of pure enjoyment, the experience is worth the price of admission (fortunately).

To share some vignettes; while doing factory training out of Spokane, I was descending into Lewiston and ATC asked me to slow down for traffic. (I imagine we were following a King Air). And then while taxiing off the runway, the Lewiston Tower controller said "That plane's a beauty" (I doubt that the JetProp folk are so organized to prompt Lewiston ATC for this .but, who knows?).

Malibu pilots are familiar with the steady, but "sedate" climb of a Malibu (which seemed pretty good at the time, compared to my prior steeds). By comparison, when I took off from Boise, Idaho (elev. 2870') on Runway 10, the tower asked for a climbing 270° right turn to the North - to gain altitude before reaching higher terrain. Doing a standard-rate turn, I was at 7,500' when re-crossing the airport . 4,500 feet + agl in about 90 seconds! Enjoy it.

Flying near the northwest Rockies is a beautiful place to train. JetProp's main instructor, Mark Conlin, led me gently but firmly to fly at higher ATP standards. I was soon flying the plane smoothly, with stabilized approaches. There is plenty of power available when you need it, so that it feels like flying an airliner. I also had the pleasure of flying additional dual time with JetProp Engineers/Test pilots, Ed Parrott and Rick Runyan - they each had additional valuable insights on the PT6 engine, other systems and flying techniques. Eric Highberg, JetProp director of Training took the lead on factory ground school and systems instruction; additional systems instruction was provided by John Larson (head of Electrical Systems), Curtis Vandergriffe (Director of Production & Maintenance) and other JetProp technicians. Darwin also provided flying time with some surprises thrown in, checking my familiarity with various emergency procedures.

My training partners at FlightSafety included Frantisek Kubik and his friends Jurgen & Klaus Tepper. The following week, Frantisek picked up his converted Malibu - JetProp #88 - and flew it with Jurgen over Hudson Bay, Greenland, the North Atlantic and back to Germany, The community of airplane owners is open and friendly and it was a pleasure to spend a week with these folk. They operate a European Malibu site http://www.mmig46.de/ and arrange an annual Malibu flying tour (last year was over East Africa). I gather the JetProp is a popular plane for Europe; it has a gross weight that is just low enough to avoid significantly higher user fees.

Over the past decade, single-engine, single-pilot TurboProps have become an (almost) affordable reality. In just the past few years, with the introduction of JetProps & Meridians, the number of turbo-prop owners and pilots is growing even faster. Boy, am I glad to be part of this group.

JetProp # 100

N463JP is a beautiful plane . a 1999 Mirage, loaded. I don't know if the JetProp folk just took the planes as they came in, or if they "selected" my plane to be #100. Either way, it is (what seems to me - biased as I am) one of the nicest planes in the fleet.

She started as a well-constructed 1999 Piper Malibu/Mirage. As a '99 she has a stronger wing spar than earlier Mirages, enabling a slightly higher gross weight of 4340. And the 1999 Mirages have the wonderful King 225 autopilot - replaced in 2000 by an STEC autopilot. In addition, she is one of a few Mirages with a King EFIS (a pricey, but nice step up from the Sandel I had on my Malibu).

The first owner was Joe Mentor, who now flies a TBM. His wife selected a unique paint color & scheme - when I first saw it I wondered . "Purple?" But, it is a striking metallic color; it has grown on me and is gorgeous. My friend Bob Lux, here in Minnesota, was the second owner and he added a pair of Garmin 530's, Skywatch and air-data computer. Fortunately, for me, his family is getting bigger (cute kids are becoming gangly, bigger and heavier teenagers) and he was selling his Mirage to get something with a greater useful load.

I'd been kicking tires on the idea of a TurboProp for sometime - I'd told my wife, Mary, that "kicking tires" is harmless; doesn't cost much. Then I looked closer at Bob's Mirage, and when the Lycoming crankshaft AD grounded it, I made an offer. Soon it was off to Spokane for the 12 week Jetprop conversion.

This well equipped, late model Mirage, with striking paint scheme, a new PT6-35 engine and the first plane with a new STC for the new Hartzell Prop will carry the "100th JetProp" mantel, proudly.

With our new JetProp, as you might guess, Mary feels that I'm set for many Christmases to come. I got a new N# - 463JP - to reflect the JetProp conversion; "463" being the first 3 digits of all Mirage serial numbers. I was kind of hoping that "4-6-3-Juliett-Papa" would have the nickname "Papa" - after all, it is "Dad's plane". Previously we had a Mooney ".65P" which was known within our family as "Papa". But this was not to be.

As I was spending more time getting ready for (some might say "obsessing over") the JetProp training & delivery, Mary was beginning to refer to the plane as "the other woman". And then the inevitable, Mary christened N463JP "Julie".

I can live with that, Julie is beautiful!

JetProp, LLC & Rocket Engineering Corp:

The 100th JetProp is of course the accomplishment of Darwin Conrad, Jeanie Sadler and their team in Spokane. Darwin & Jeanie started Rocket Engineering in 1990 to provide improved solutions for GA pilots.

Jeanie emphasizes their goal "to be good to their customers". And, an important factor in my selection of JetProp was the 100% positive comments from existing JetProp owners about how well they have been treated. The JetProp sales staff, and client "handlers", are on the front line and they are attentive. Richard Green was patient with me during my acquisition decision process; he and his cohorts Pat McMurray and Lyn Amestoy back each other up to get answers and find solutions.

Darwin speaks of getting a love for flying on his Dad's knee (literally) as a youngster in a Cessna 120. After college and various jobs, Darwin worked for the Machen Group in Coeur D'Alene - which is known for their Aerostar conversions, and also has offered mods on Cheyennes, Dukes and other planes. Darwin was responsible for designing 8 major modifications while at Machen, and learned about the FAA STC process by the time he left to form Rocket Engineering.

It took Rocket 3 years to get their first STCs approved. At times in the early days of Rocket Engineering, Darwin and Jeanie took no salary and held supplemental jobs, to "pay the rent". They have subsequently delivered over 200 Mooney Missile and Rocket conversions based on their initial STCs. If imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, these were successful designs - which were eventually imitated by Mooney in the current Mooney product line - Bravo, Ovation & Eagle.

In order to develop a turboprop STC for the Malibu/Mirage, Darwin knew he would need outside financing. JetProp, LLC was founded in 1995 with Warren Wood as an investor. The STC was issued and announced at Oshkosh on July 31st, 1998.

Warren Wood has been a successful medical technology entrepreneur & executive who took up flying in his late 50's. He quickly got his instrument rating and migrated to Malibu as a great plane for his traveling needs. Commenting on his JetProp investment, he said "I didn't know if I would make any money on JetProp, but at least I figured I would get a good fast plane."

The JetProp organization continues to invest in product enhancements; they have doubled their original investment in the current JetProp program. Most notable areas of effort include a gross weight increase (still not approved), the new PT6-35 engine, new prop, wheel well fairings, cabin heating improvements, new Moritz engine instrumentation and over 50 pounds of weight which have been taken out of the finished converted plane. JetProp is operating "in the black" - and Warren is on his third JetProp, it is a good "fast plane".

Given the lead-time to bring an STC to market, Rocket Engineering & JetProp have a steady stream of new STCs in their pipeline. At Oshkosh this past year they announced the "TurbineAir" - a tubroprop conversion for the unpressurized Bonanza B36TC. And, they have 3 additional new STCs under development, intending to introduce one a year. In light of the imitation their STC's have received, they are understandably secretive about their plans. Given their track record of success, I'm eager to see what they do next. Maybe something that will offer near business jet performance, at a fraction of the operating cost?

An STC process enables innovation to reach the marketplace and where there is a market, the ideas may ultimately become embedded in new aircraft type certificates. The STC process is difficult and approval through the FAA takes time. But, getting an STC through FAA approval and to market is an order of magnitude less expensive that an FAA type certificate for a new plane. I don't know the actual numbers, but my impression is that the cost of developing the JetProp STC is several million dollars (order of magnitude, mid to low 7 digits). - By comparison, I've heard an estimate of about $70 million to develop and certify the Piper Meridian.

Despite this difference in development cost, the potential ROI, as percent of investment, may be similar for an STC and new type certificate due to a smaller available market for the STC. Revenue from a successful STC will be limited by the market size - which will be some percent (maybe 20% or 30% ?) of the available fleet to be converted. On the other hand, a successful new aircraft type certificate can produce new planes as long as there is market demand.

Piper might have developed the Meridian without the example from JetProp. But the JetProp program demonstrates capabilities, operating costs, price and market interest. As owners, we all benefit by having alternative choices; competition which makes both products better and which drives each organization to do a better job.

Darwin is biased in favor of the JetProp; so am I. He feels that the lighter weight of the PT6-34 & -35, pitot-ram-air design, economical operation, lower cost distribution and other innovations make the JetProp a better and more economical product - which he has continued to improve.

Returning to Minnesota in my new JetProp, a friend tracked my N# on Flight Explorer - He saw me doing 345kts! . with benefit of a good tailwind to be sure. I was doing an honest 265 ktas, 34 gph at FL 270. And, I was not maxed out on any engine parameters (torque or temperatures)! This is a 33% speed increase, over my Malibu. With JetProp's faster climb-rate to cruise altitude, and ability to stay there longer, some JetProp owners experience 50% improvement in total trip time. Yep, it is a good fast plane.

Whether you prefer JetProps or Meridians, these are great planes to fly. And we can all appreciate the innovation of the Rocket Engineering and JetProp team. As Darwin Conrad has commented, "This is something I can do, that is kinda fun, and helps people with better products".

Congratulations to Darwin, Jeanie and team for delivery of JetProp #100! And, a special thanks from me.