I have an A-36 TN, with out any ice protection except heated prop. I live in the mountains and was stuck the month of Feb, with my wife enjoying life in Florida
I am debating on buying either a 2008 Matrix or a TN g-36 and adding tks or boots.
I would be interested in your thoughts on both.

If you have the TN, and are looking to upgrade, it is hard to not evaluate the pressurization offered by the Malibu/Mirage family. While I love my bonanza, traveling long distances in the pressurized cabin above most of the weather in a FIKI airframe is both comforting and comfortable.

It is certainly a step up, but I do not understand looking at a Matrix, and not looking at the pressurized offerings as well.

The matrix exists to fill a niche for new buyers who can't quite afford a Mirage or can't get insured in a pressurized plane. It's a great option for the 100TT VFR guy who's gonna buy a Pilatus in 18 months. Unless you are bound and determined to get a G1000, I'd just drop back a few years and get a Mirage. The matrix has all the hassle of a pressurized Mirage with much less utility.

The PA46 family has a 130KIAS minimum speed in icing. Not the greatest setup for mountain icing. If you're just looking for a hardcore ice flying bird, I'd either go for TKS or step up to a twin. The PA46 is available in known ice and handles it well, but if you're buying a new plane just to handle ice, there are better choices.

My perspective on the Matrix is it was conceived primarily to address the limited full-fuel useful load of the Malibu/Mirage, and it could be offered at a somewhat smaller price by eliminating cost of the pressurization system. Matrix then gains the equivalent useful load of one additional passenger (about 200 lbs). Of the choices under consideration (Beech 36TN vs. PA-46 models), all are capable of performance that shines best at higher cruise altitudes (where pressurization is holy grail), particularly the PA-46 because of its longer wingspan.

Most pilots with no experience with pressurized aircraft likely don't understand that pressurization is not all that complex, either operationally or from a maintenance standpoint. If for me the choice came down to a PA-46 with or without pressurization, then pressurization is a hands-down winner for all the safety and comfort it affords when flying in the environment for which it is designed. Moreover, it is a rare Malibu/Mirage that isn't outfitted from the factory with full deice equipment.

As a Mirage and a Malibu owner I would not opt for a plane without pressurization unless my mission was only short hops (300 km and less).

It is hard to underestimate the value of arriving at your destination refreshed after a 3 or 4 hour flight. It used to take me the rest of the day to recoup in my old plane that I rarely flew over 12000.

P

I don't anything about your current A36 TN but my first option would be to add TKS to that plane. There a number of reasons that I prefer the A36 TN to the G36 TN.

At 2008 Matrix or TKS G36 prices, I'd be sitting on my wallet until I could stretch for a JetProp.

The early Matrix airframes were shipped without boots or radar and perhaps some other goodies. As such they were meaningfully cheaper and lighter than the same year Mirage. Subsequently they have mostly been optioned in the same manner as the Mirage and the cost/weight advantge largely evaporates. It's hard to overemphasize how little is involved in pressurization per se in an airframe designed to take it. It's all the stuff (boots, radar, turbo) that allow you to put pressurization to use that drive cost and weight.

Buy TKS for your A36. It will shed Ice better than any Matrix with boots. I don't understand the attraction of a G36 unless you need upgraded avionics and AP,

Save your money for a turboprop.

+1

To safely handle winter ice in mountainous regions you need more then boots or TKS. You also need excess power and airspeed to rapidly climb and descend through the ice layers.

+1

To safely handle winter ice in mountainous regions you need more then boots or TKS. You also need excess power and airspeed to rapidly climb and descend through the ice layers.

Neither the Matrix or Malibu are good ice birds, especially if taking off into ice. Climb rates at 130knots are miserable so it might take 6 to 8 minutes to get thru a band of icing. Much better on descent.

TKS in the +5 to -20C is kind of set it and forget it system if primed prior to take off. Other pilots will be screaming left and right for deviations for ice and you'll just sit there and wonder what all the fuss is about until you look at your landing light lens and realize there is 2 inches of ice on it. Rest of the airframe, totally clear...The you start to panic too when you realize the fluid supply is finite