AOPA Pilot Magazine - June 2011 - 65

about a block away rather than a couple
of feet in front of my feet.
After departing Vero Beach, we headed
northeast toward, appropriately, PIPER
intersection. A cruise climb at 35 inches
of manifold pressure and 2,500 rpm
gave us a climb rate of about 800 feet per
minute at 125 KIAS and 32 gph, leaned
to peak turbine inlet temperature (TIT).
Leveling off at FL230, we set up for
high-speed cruise at 32 inches and 2,500
rpm. A nice thing about the Mirage is
that you almost never have to touch
the propeller control. At 20.4 gph and
leaned to a TIT of 1,750 degrees, the airplane
settled in at 214 TAS, about four
knots faster than book. Under optimal
conditions, the maximum book speed
is shown as 213 knots. Kronsnoble’s rule
of thumb for the Mirage is to expect 210
knots true on 21 gph at FL210—the rule
of 21s, if you will.
An economy cruise setting provides
lots of endurance, if that becomes more
important than speed. At 26 inches and
2,200 rpm, leaned to a peak TIT of 1,650
degrees and 13.4 gph, true airspeed
dipped to 184 knots—but endurance,
with 120 gallons of fuel available, would
stretch to more than 6.5 hours, accounting
for climb fuel and a 45-minute
reserve. Later, we plummeted back to
Vero Beach with the standard speed
brakes deployed, allowing for eye-opening
descents while keeping the engine
from cooling too fast.
The capable and well-equipped
Mirage suffers from the same problem
that faces every new airplane today:
limited useful load. With a maximum
ramp weight of 4,358 pounds, an empty
weight of 3,135 pounds for the wellequipped
airplane we flew, and all 120
gallons of fuel on board, useful load is
about 503 pounds; so two people and
bags, or three people and briefcases.
But those 120 gallons allow for trips
of more than five hours at high-speed
cruise, including climb fuel and 45
minutes of reserve. With most trips less
than 500 miles, there’s plenty of flexibility
to trade fuel for additional cargo or
passengers.
A 500-mile trip at high-speed cruise
would require only about 58 gallons,
allowing for four onboard and lots of
bags. The pressurization, radar, air conditioning,
deicing boots, leather interior,
writing table, and other accoutrements
come with a weight penalty. Those wanting
similar performance, but not so
concerned about wearing oxygen masks,
can opt for the Piper Matrix, which is
AOPA PILOT • 65 • JUNE 2011
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basically an unpressurized Mirage. The
weight savings amount to about 150
pounds, depending on options.
Regardless, the Mirage is highly com-
petitive from a payload standpoint, on
par or better than most other highperformance
piston airplanes, and
also from a value standpoint. Piper
recently lowered the typically equipped
price by about $100,000, depending on
options. The airplane I flew, N2365S,
which included weather radar, boots,
traffic, Jeppesen electronic charts, and
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million.
Customers are noticing the value.
Piper is increasing annual Mirage production
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aopa.org.
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AOPA Pilot Magazine - June 2011

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