Consider a few things:
First, where in the country do you intend to fly? Is most of your flying going to be done within 200 NM of home or do you plan on really long cross countries on a regular basis? Are you flying out west and will need to cross the Rockies or will you be flying east of the Mississippi?
For short or regional hops a CE-182 is a great airplane, especially for a new pilot. Big useful load for the type (1200lbs), docile handling and landing characteristics, relatively speedy at 140ks cruise, good short field and soft field capability. Even on a 900NM flight, it's not too bad, especially with a brisk tailwind. And especially for you at this stage, a sterling safety record and insurable. All you'll need is a PPL and a high performance endorsement and you're good to go.
Another thing to consider is your experience as a pilot at this point. The Malibus, Cirruses (Cirrii?) Corvallis, and even light twins like a CE-310 are more capable but demand a premium of experience and seasoning as a pilot before stepping into one. And it's not just me; your insurance company is almost certainly going to tell you this as well, if they would even insure you at all at this point on those airplanes. I once read a story about a man who bought a Cessna Corvalis after his third hour of flight training and the insurance company wouldn't let him even solo it until he had 50 hours dual instruction in the airplane. This isn't to say you should not seek out exotic and high-performance aircraft during your time is a pilot, but it means it is recommended that you pursue your first couple hundred hours of flight time as well as private pilot instruction in a more docile and slower aircraft to build the time and the experience needed to move up. Don't worry, the flight time will go fast and sooner or later you'll be a pilot with 400-500 hours behind you and you'll be in good condition to seek out the more expensive and capable machines.
As I mentioned before in regards to the insurability of the airplane, there's also the experience level with faster and more powerful aircraft and can lure you into trouble very quickly. Many of these aircraft are marketed as personal airliners, and it's true that they are very capable. But we are deluding ourselves to think of these airplanes this way. Commercial aircraft are certified to far higher standards than general aviation airplanes, they have equipment that allows them to tread into darken skies much easier than these GA planes do. They have performance guarantees, jet power, retractable landing gear, full flight into known icing capabilities, pressurization, etc. and can live up to that standard. Most GA aircraft short of the business jets realistically can't do that, thought companies like Cirrus market them as such to new time flyers and they should know better. SR 22s, TTxs and other advanced technology speed demons make for good eye candy to the aggressive and inexperienced or naive among us. I've often said that the most dangerous thing in aviation is a pilot who does not know what he/she does not know. Part of that knowledge of good airmanship can be taught but a lot of it comes only from experience and knowledge of one's own capabilities and limitations. Aspire for these birds, but build time and experience so you can better enjoy them when you're ready for them.
Another major factor is maintenance. It's true that you can afford a PA 46 or even a medium time King Air F90 around 800,000. But that just gets you a very expensive paperweight in a hangar somewhere; the ownership cost need to be considered as well. And the more exotic the aircraft you own, the more system it's going to have and the more it's going to cost to maintain it. An SR22 or a TTx will easily cost you 15,000 annually when you consider the cost of maintenance, hangering, fuel, insurance, recurrency training, etc. Move up into the cabin class Malibus with the turbocharging, pressurization, weather radar, deicing, etc is going to drive the price up to over 30,000. Move from their end of the twins and turboprops, conservatively expect to double that figure, and then move into entry level jets you can expect that figure to double again. It's not a cheap hobby.
UPDATE: As the OP changed the question a little bit, the answer to when you can step up into an SR22T or a PA-46-350 Mirage is that it depends.
First off, you can probably fly any of these aircraft with just a PPL, complex and high performance endorsements, and only a few hours of training with an instructor. The airplanes are docile and well behaved, have good approach and landing characteristics and can tolerate quite a bit of handling errors. All the aircraft listed have good saftey records in regards to mechanical failures, etc. They are perfectly safe when operated properly by a competent and experienced pilot. And a lot of pilot owners use these planes for business or pleasure on a regular basis.
The real issue here is can you operate these aircraft on real world long distance flights in the regimes they were designed for in real world, traffic, weather, emergencies, unplanned diverts, ATC instructions, etc. People don't get killed in Cirruses and Malibus doing laps around a traffic pattern at a country airport on a sunny Saturday afternoon, but there are plenty of NTSB reports on these planes in congested and unfamiliar airports or airspace, bad weather, unfamiliarity with onboard systems, poor decisions in flight planning and airmanship, becoming saturated and overwhelmed with operating the number of onboard systems and other cockpit tasks, and just downright wandering into a dangerous situation where they never realized they were in peril until it was too late.
I'd highly recommend reading the book The Next Hour by aviation author Richard Collins. The book, so titled after the joke aviation adage that the only hour in your logbook that counts is your next one, talks a lot about the nature and causes of general aviation accidents. One topic that Collins raises in this book is that aggressive and hot blooded airplanes tend to attract aggressive pilots. People who are aggressive and impulsive tend to seek out fast capable machines and generally don't know what they are getting into. They are attracted to the speed and power and remain woefully ignorant of the responsibility and forethought needed to operate them safely. A person can look at a Meridian or a Pilatus and think 'Wow! I could fly from San Francisco to Denver in 3 hours!' without being aware of what this will really mean to the neophyte operating a complex aircraft in IMC in a congested terminal environment with rapidly changing weather, new ATC routing, etc.
This can also be amplified by life experiences, socioeconomic status, cockiness, and arrogance. The Beechcraft Bonanza earned an infamous nickname as the 'Fork-Tailed Doctor Killer' precisely because it's speed, power and luxury attracted successful doctors, trial lawyers, businessmen and other people who have had a lot of successes early on in life, with a lot of disposable income and little maturity when it came to flying. They liked taking risks and living dangerously in their daily lives and, given their track records and bank accounts, vindicate this attitude by their previous successes. Who cares if this pimply faced 19-year old CFI is telling me that the ILS approach into Airport X is difficult and demanding? I did my instrument training all under the hood in Scottsdale, AZ in July. I did my mandated minimum of 25 hours dual in my new airplane that the insurance company wanted. I'm current and the ceilings are forecast to be (slightly) above minimums. What could go wrong?
Fast forward to his approach where the ceilings were lower than forecasted for the area, he's making his third attempt at the approach down to minimums, becoming frustrated and unable to precisely track the ILS which he struggled with being his first time in real IMC, he's getting behind the airplane, not following checklists, ignoring critical items, and he's only got 15 minutes of fuel left. And for the first time in his life, he's totally out of control and really, really SCARED. Experience is a brutal instructor as she gives the test first and then the lesson. And the problem is that many pilots will not survive the test in order to learn the lesson. That, my friend, is how NTSB reports get written in on high performance airplanes.
Any license or certificate which the FAA issues is essentially a gov't issued journeyman's license to practice the craft of airmanship within certain boundaries and restrictions. It does NOT convey upon you the status of mastery, nor should you ever think of them that way. Airmanship is an art which takes a lifetime to master; there are pilots with over 20,000 logged hours who still learn new skills in the cockpit with each flight.
What isn't gauged or certified is the maturity or wisdom to understand personal capabilities and limitations, and knowing when a situation or conditions make it unsafe to fly. Until this solid base of good airmanship is established you remain a risk and this gets enhanced as the aircraft you fly become more powerful, faster and more onboard systems.
The good news is that you can build this base through pilot experience, risk management, setting personal minimums and training. I don't want to deter you from seeking out these a Malibu or an SR-22 or give you the impression that they are some kind of a dangerous deathtrap; they are not and I can see you safely upgrading to one of these airplanes during your flying career. BUT DO IT THE RIGHT WAY.
First off, let's get through flight training. Spending $1 mil on a Meridian is a waste of money if you struggle to get your PPL in a CE-172 and just don't enjoy flying. Once you have that PPL, log 100 or so hours flying 172s and earn your instrument rating while you at it. The knowledge and airmanship skills are invaluable, make you a much safer pilot, and expand your capabilities as to when you can operate your airplane and go on cross country flights with less impediment by weather.
If, at this point, you still want to buy a plane, then consider what you mission will be, how much you are prepared to spend, both to purchase and on operating costs, and what kind of aircraft will suit that need and begin training for that aircraft.
We will consider the cases of the Cirrus SR-22T and the Piper PA-46-350 Mirage. I would divide the requirements into when someone can safely operate these aircraft and when they would be reasonably insurable.
Safe operations minimums - SR-22T:*
- PPL-ASEL
- Instrument Airplane with currency
- Minimum Required times before transition vary from pilot to pilot, depending on airmanship aptitude and speed at which he/she can assimilate into different aircraft, but The following would be typical:
- 150 hours PIC.
- 100 hours cross country time
- 50 hours cross country time between airports at least 400NM apart, of which at least 10 of these hours should be at night.
- 50 hours of instrument time, either real or simulated.
- 100 logged instrument approaches, multiple types eg ILS, VOR, RNAV,
NDB, etc.
- 20 hours of night flying time.
- 25 hours dual instruction on the SR-22T airplane.
- High Performance Logbook Endorsement
- High Altitude Training
- Garmin Perspective training and at least 10 hours in a G-1000 or
Perspective equipped aircraft.
Insurable minimums - SR-22T:
- PPL-ASEL
- Instrument Airplane with currency
- Minimum 500-1000 hours total (they will RAPE you on premiums for the
lower times), which should include the following:
- 500 hours PIC.
- 300 hours cross country time
- 100 hours cross country time between airports at least 400NM apart, of which at least 10 of these hours should be at night.
- 100 hours of instrument time, either real or simulated.
- 100 logged instrument approaches, multiple types eg ILS, VOR, RNAV, NDB, etc.
- 50 hours of night flying time.
- High Performance Logbook Endorsement
- Training specific to the airframe through a Cirrus Certified
Instructor Program and following Cirrus SR-22T transition cirriculum
to include:
- 25 hours dual instruction on the SR-22T airplane.
- High Altitude Training
- Garmin Perspective training
For the Piper Mirage, these are going to be a little higher due to the fact that it's a complex airplane with more onboard systems to manage. You are recommended to seek out a complex logbook endorsement in a complex airplane prior to beginning this and build time flying a complex airplane.
Safe operations minimums - PA-46-350:*
- PPL-ASEL
- Instrument Airplane with currency
- Complex Airplane Logbook endorsement
- High Performance Logbook Endorsement
- Minimum Required times before transition vary from pilot to pilot, depending on airmanship aptitude and speed at which he/she can assimilate into different aircraft, but The following would be typical:
- 150 hours PIC of which at least 50 hours should be in complex
airplanes.
- 100 hours cross country time
- 100 hours cross country time between airports at least 400NM apart, of which at least 10 of these hours should be at night.
- 50 hours of instrument time, either real or simulated.
- 100 logged instrument approaches, multiple types eg ILS, VOR, RNAV,
NDB, etc.
- 20 hours of night flying time.
- 25 hours dual instruction on the PA-46-350 airplane.
- High Altitude Training
- Garmin G-1000 training and at least 10 hours in a G-1000 or
Perspective equipped aircraft
.
Insurable minimums - PA-46-350:
- PPL-ASEL
- Instrument Airplane with currency
- Complex Airplane Logbook endorsement
- High Performance Logbook Endorsement
- Minimum 500-1000 hours total, (they will RAPE you on the low time or low complex time premiums) which should include the following:
- 300 hours PIC of which at least 100 hours should be in complex airplanes.
- 200 hours cross country time
- 200 hours cross country time between airports at least 400NM apart, of which at least 10 of these hours should be at night.
- 100 hours of instrument time, either real or simulated.
- 100 logged instrument approaches, multiple types eg ILS, VOR, RNAV, NDB, etc.
- 25 hours of night flying time.
- 25 hours dual instruction on the PA-46-350 airplane.
- High Altitude Training
- Garmin G-1000 training and at least 10 hours in a G-1000 or
Perspective equipped aircraft.
*Safe operations indicates a pilot with good airmanship aptitude, clean safety record and demonstrated competence in handling the new aircraft during checkout.
I know some of this seems daunting but it's really necessary for safe operation of these aircraft. If you fly on a regular basis you should acquire the flight times very quickly, within 2-3 years. Don't get discouraged by this; keep at it. I'd also recommend doing the following.
- Start flying more at night and doing cross country flights. Don't
keep you flying limited to one region of the country. Fly to many
different airports. It really looks good to see this in your logbook
and really gets you good experience.
- If/When you get your instrument rating fly on overcast days where you
can log real IMC time in 'benign soup'. It is an excellent way to
build up REAL instrument time. NOTE: Do proper preflights, weather
briefings and SET PERSONAL MINIMUMS AND STICK TO THEM. Don't fly in
hazardous weather eg embedded cumulonimbus, etc. Fly practice
approaches to new airports in day VFR conditions to get familiarized
with them then fly them on overcast days in real IMC.
- No man is an island; seek out the community and counsel of
experienced pilots and build up that ecosystem of knowledge.
- Avoid hazardous attitudes and follow the FARs. Most of that
knowledge was paid for in blood at some point in time and is
relevant.
