Piper launches M600 demo tour of Africa with Piper dealer, NAC

Piper Aircraft Inc. and National Airways Corporation, NAC, Piper’s sales representative in Africa, are collaborating to exhibit the M600, the company’s flagship product, throughout the continent of Africa during the month of July. The aircraft will make stops in several key countries as it makes its way to South Africa. Following an aggressive demo schedule commencing down the West Coast the M600 will also stop in Nigeria, Angola, and Namibia, following which it will stay in South Africa for a couple of days performing demonstrations, and then travel north along the East coast of Africa, making stops in Malawi, Kenya, Ethiopia, and Egypt. This will be the first time that an M600 aircraft is on display in Africa.

“Africa is a key region for Piper Aircraft. The arrival of the M600 shows Piper and NAC’s commitment to providing modern turbo prop, cabin class aircraft with industry leading safety features to this region. The aircraft’s performance and market leading value proposition is perfectly suited to the Sub Saharan market,” said Drew McEwen, Vice President of International and Direct Sales. “We are delighted to have our M600 aircraft on display for the first time in Africa and look forward to providing a cost effective business tool to the region.”

“NAC has been successfully representing Piper in our territory for the past seven years and we are thrilled to be able to bring the latest Piper model to our customers in Africa. This aircraft is perfectly suited for the conditions in our region.” said JP Fourie, Executive Director Aircraft for NAC.

About the Piper M600

The Piper M600 features a new, clean sheet design wing and a sophisticated Garmin G3000 touchscreen-controlled glass flight deck. The M600 seats six and is powered by a Pratt & Whitney PT6A-42A 600shp engine. The aircraft has a maximum cruise speed of 274 ktas/507 km/h, a max range of 1,484 nm / 2,748 km, and a standard useful load of 2,400 lbs. / 1,089 kg. The G3000 avionics suite is the next generation of Garmin architecture, offering the most comprehensive, intuitive, and technologically advanced package on today’s market.

 About NAC

National Airways Corporation (NAC) is the largest general aviation company in Africa and one of the largest of its kind in the world. The company offers a full range of aviation products and services to the fixed wing and helicopter markets, including new and pre-owned sales, maintenance, parts, charter, international operations, air ambulance services, aircraft leasing and pilot, technical and ATC training.

Established in 1946, NAC’s strength lies in the relationships it has built over 70 years with both clients and suppliers. These robust partnerships enable NAC’s experienced and professional staff to provide market leading, cost effective solutions customized to the customer’s specific requirements. NAC is an ISO 9001:2008 accredited company and was recently approved as the world’s first Flight Safety Foundation BARS Gold Standard operator.

NAC is based at Lanseria International Airport in Johannesburg and operates a South African network of offices at Grand Central and Rand Airports in Johannesburg, Wonderboom Airport in Pretoria, the V&A Waterfront in Cape Town, Virginia Airport in Durban and Port Alfred Airport in the Eastern Cape.

NAC comprises of FlyAwesome (Flight Operations), Aircraft and Helicopter Divisions, working in close cooperation and supported by central finance, human capital and IT services. NAC’s international operations business, FlyAwesome, has offices in Johannesburg, Perth and Malta and our asset ownership and leasing businesses, Awesome Asset Securities and Awesome Flight Logistics, are based in Johannesburg and Perth. Specialized Aircraft Services is located in Wichita, Kansas, USA.

On a combined basis, the NAC group operates more than 150 aircraft.