Aircraft

Epic E1000: Big Power and Speed

To date, the single-engine turboprop market has been a classic economic model of independent niches—the players don’t compete directly. The Pilatus PC-12, Daher-Socata TBMs, Cessna Caravans, Quest Kodiak and Piper Meridian target different mission and load needs; there’s not much to encourage price competition, although the TBMs are so fast they do go head to head with some jets.

Rick Durden
Verified

To date, the single-engine turboprop market has been a classic economic model of independent niches—the players don’t compete directly. The Pilatus PC-12, Daher-Socata TBMs, Cessna Caravans, Quest Kodiak and Piper Meridian target different mission and load needs; there’s not much to encourage price competition, although the TBMs are so fast they do go head to head with some jets.

This could change in 18 months—when Epic Aviation hopes to finish certification and start delivery of its 1200-HP E1000 to compete directly with the new TBM 900. Epic offers an amazingly slippery-looking, hell-for-stout carbon-fiber machine with a larger cabin, more payload, max cruise speed within measurement error and slightly shorter legs than the TBM.

Rick Durden

Senior Editor Rick Durden has written for Aviation Consumer since 1994 and specializes in aviation law. Rick is an active CFII and holds an ATP with type ratings in the Douglas DC-3 and Cessna Citation. He is the author of The Thinking Pilot’s Flight Manual or, How to Survive Flying Little Airplanes and Have a Ball Doing It, Vols. 1 & 2.