Ever noticed that your car looks a lot better after the tires have been “armor-all’ed”. You can wash, wax, and spit shine the body and still the vehicle doesn’t look good until the tires are shiny black. Same goes for an airplane, if it has wing de-ice boots. The de-ice boots on the Malibu are…
Some items on the Malibu are simply more important than others. I know, I know…I’ll hear from all the “pinky toes” out there with that remark, but the having a working landing gear extension system is always going to me more important than the aircraft clock. Both are required for flight, but one is more…
The Malibu is a pressurized airplane, and any pressurization system is only as strong as the weakest link. The weakest link is almost always the mechanical component that is the largest. In the Malibu the door is the largest mechanical component of the structure. So, it stands to reason that the door in the Malibu…
A real threat to the health of your Malibu is the potential to miss-load the airplane while on the ground. The Malibu can be loaded so that it rotates on the main gear backwards allowing the tail to strike the ground. If it does strike the ground, the rear tie-down will be the first part…
The PA-46 has super-long wings that are perfect for high altitude performance, but they also come with the penalty of a low Va (Maneuvering speed) for the airframe (read post, “Malibu Maneuvering Speed”). Due to this, many owners have installed spoilers to help with quick descents. One of my biggest arguments against the spoilers is…
I am totally pissed! I did it again! It was not even 3 years ago that I landed a Piper Malibu on a short runway only to notice upon touchdown that one complete side of the brake system was completely inoperative. Now, just last week, it happened again! Here’s the story and the fix to…
Each year, when I go from a warm climate to a cold climate in the Malibu, especially when the temperatures at altitude are extremely cold, there have been flights when I have not been able to get 3 green lights when I put the landing gear down. My usual flight that meets this description is…