Well, I finally had the chance to demo the Epic turboprop. James North from Epic was nice enough to give my wife and I a detailed overview of the Epic, its systems. I didn’t expect a ride this day, given that my visit was last minute, due to my morning being blown up with some obligations. James stayed a little late for us. So, I was wearing my Cowboy boots which don’t give the most tactile feedback when flying, but what the heck, not going to say no.

This first thing that strikes you as you approach the plane is the ramp presence. This is a real aircraft. Sitting high on the very robust trialing link gear, the plane sits about as high as the PC12 sitting next to it on the ramp. Just looking at the external construction, you can tell right away that despite its heritage, this is no kit plane. Beautiful lines, and a modern look. The bolts on the trailing link gear would look at home on a regional airliner.



When you open the air stair, this a real entry. You can walk up the wide and well-placed steps, which might invite you to not think about ducking, but this is a 6-seater, and there are compromises. The cabin is well appointed, the fit and finish very respectable. No shades on the windows, but they are electrically dimmed, and do a nice job keeping the heat out. The newer versions will have Lee Aerospace cool view windows and windscreens, like some of the competition. The ability to block the sun is a must in a flight level aircraft flying in the thin air above the bright clouds. The seats are well positioned and allow ample room for my 6’2 self. Even the smallest seats the rear forward facing had enough room for both of us, although we were touching shoulders, 2 men back there would be cozy. But plenty of headroom.



The luggage area was less deep than my M600 but was taller. We use 77-liter duffle bags in our 600 to maximize usage of the baggage area, which conveniently fit 3+3 stacked, so all 6 passengers can get a travel bag, within weight limits. Looking at the dimensions, I think the Epic would take those same 6 bags stacked sideways as opposed long-ways, and unlike the 600, there is convenient room between the cockpit seating and rear facing seats that allows for additional storage. No external storage on this aircraft. The seats are comfortable, perhaps a little firm in the seat bottom, would have to see how that feels on one of the longer flights. There are no center arm rests on the pilot or co-pilot seats, but is a free option. I would opt for that option. Would be an uncomfortable long flight with my center arm hanging. Lighting is excellent, and each station has Lemo plugs with good positioning of the plugs. Oxygen for the pax drop from the ceiling like an airliner, and is plumbed into the onboard O2, which has a convenient refill position by the door. An upgrade from the O2 generators for pax in my aircraft that must be serviced occasionally. O2 for the crew are quick-don over the outer shoulder. Seatbelts for the pax are standard inertia reel, 4 points for the crew. I prefer automotive style restraints, as the 4-points are uncomfortable for me, but that is purely a preference, and a minor concern.



The cockpit is one of the easiest of the cabin class aircraft to enter. Similar to a Mustang, but much easier than getting into a Citation, PC12/24, Piper M, or TBM. Seats are comfortable and adjustable in all directions. The view is good, with some interesting blind spots, that the pilot will certainly become used to. Coming back into Ogden, there was converging traffic to my left 45, but from my seat position when I turn left, all I see is cabin wall. So, the traffic was obscured, so either had to lean forward and look back out the pilots left window or lean back and look out the first-round window in the passenger cabin. Finally able to acquire traffic and confirm it was a high wing, I was confident that it was not going to catch us, and ATC did finally give that aircraft instructions to follow us. I was not able to see the runway from a right 45 base entry, as it was completely obscured by the elevated center part of the glare shield and the large nose. Even lining up, I could barely see the runway, until the crosswind moved the nose to the right allowing me to see it. So, my alignment was initially using the visual approach guidance on the PFD. As we dropped gear and flaps, (In the Epic flaps, gear flaps, due to low Vlo speed of 150 KIAS) then the forward pitch attitude gave me a clear view of the runway. I do wonder writing this if my seat were adjusted too low. Would play with that on demo flight 2.



Preflight and engine start are pretty straight forward. On the pilots panel, the buttons for engine start are laid out in order on the top bank of switches. Turn them on left to right, hit engine start, and add fuel at the proper Ng, and just monitor the auto-start sequence. Doesn’t get much easier than that. Same with the pre-taxi switches on the second row. The cockpit is set up to ensure success for the pilot. Taxi is a non-issue. Power assisted nose steering, and you can switch from rudder control for stability, to free castering just by decreasing the turn radius with brakes and with a little clunk, the nose wheel disengages, and you can pivot on a main. When it is time to reengage just straighten the plane out and the nose wheel steering re-engages.

So, what everyone loves. Performance. Certainly, this is where the Epic is truly Epic. The power to weight of this aircraft and modern clean lines make it the fastest certified turbine single, and faster than most of the twin turboprops. We had an overcast, and I was more interested in the handling of the aircraft than its flight level prowess, so we were capped around 12,500 feet. Take off was brisk, Vr started at 80 KIAS and the plane was flying at 90 KIAS. I gave the autopilot a well-deserved break, so can’t comment on it, but it is a GFC700, and is certainly solid. We climbed with a little zoom almost 4000 fpm leveling out just above 2000 fpm doing a normal climb and leveled at 12.5 quite quickly. Controls are well balanced, and for the weight of the plane almost seem power assisted. Not sure how the engineers got such a big plane to handle like a plane one third its weight, but they did. We left the climb power in for a minute. Climb power is limited to 5 minutes but in that time, we were able to accelerate quickly, then pulled back to max cruise where we briefly saw 300 knots true in the thick air at 12,500 feet. We didn’t stay there for long. Eating 6 miles a minute, we didn’t want to blow through Nevada and wander into California . Engine temps stayed well within limits. We transitioned to maneuvering flight. This is where you get a feel for the plane. As much as I would love to do some stalls, the Epic has a shaker and a pusher and while my wife is a hardy flyer, I don’t want to sleep on the couch, so we flew conservatively. Steep turns seemed like cheating. Roll it over and gentle back pressure was all it took to do the procedure, no need to trim as the back pressure was mild. Likewise, an emergency descent was a non-event, easily hitting 6000 fpm just by going to flight idle and some gentle forward pressure. The plane could do far more than 6000 fpm but see sleeping on the couch above.





All good things come to an end, and we had to go back for Landing. Landing gear speed (Vlo) is only 150 KIAS, which means that typically when slowing for an approach you will bring the first notch of flaps in, which can extend to approach position up to 180 KIAS, then gear, then flaps. When necessary, the big 5-blade prop can slow you down all by itself. If you need to slow down and go down, or quickly hit a certain V-speed just pull the power back. Vref is conventional for a SETP at 95 KIAS, and the throttle is easy to fine tune power changes. The trailing link gear can make a hack feel like a hero.



So, what is the impression? This is an impressive aircraft that gives people interested in the light turbine market another great choice. I will be very interested to see the real-world experience of this aircraft.





Comparisons: Well, this plane competes directly the same markets as the Cirrus SF50, Piper M700 and TBM 960, and indirectly with the PC12, Citation M2, Phenom 100, Honda jet, King Air 250’s, and I am sure I left some out. These OEM’s are going to need to play a strong game to compete with this aircraft. The legacy OEMs have a little head start on technology, with the G3000, Autoland, automatic database updates, engine monitoring and remote monitoring and such. As well as some positioning with the different price points. They also enjoy some existing brand loyalty. Perhaps a more robust dealer and service network. Some OEMs include 5 years warranty and most included maintenance including annuals, which can be a selling point especially for new aircraft. Notwithstanding, the Epic is a nice addition to the light turbine single engine segment, from what I experienced, I think is going to be here to stay. Thank you, James, and Epic, for this great experience.

Great write up Charles!

So when are you trading in the M600?

I am buying lotto tickets like a madman . Is a nice plane.

Epic is stunningly beautiful.
I used to dream about owning one.

Charles,
I wonder what you would say about climbing into an Avanti. So worth it and comfortable once in.

The Piaggio is a work of art. Parked next to one in Savannah, Georgia, right after we got our first M600 I think they were as interested in my M600 as I was their Piaggio. They couldn’t believe that I had the same range with my little single engine mosquito as they did. But yeah, beautiful plane.

If you slow the Piaggio down to 310kts, it has more range than your m600, quite a bit actually if ForeFlight profiles are to be believed.

That said, that feels really slow and it gets too quiet. It’s disconcerting when a passenger in the back closes the lab door and the ‘click’ of the latch makes you jump. I have to find the pic but I think in my plane at that power setting the cabin was 67db.

Quick mental tally from the POH tables suggests Piaggio range of about 1630nm at max range power, FL390, ISA, takeoff wt of about 11550 (original max gross). That’s with 500lb reserve which is 1.25 hrs of cruise. Going to FL410 after burning some fuel may extend that a little more at the price of being a little slower, but I didn’t do the math in my head for that.

Tick tock…