AOPA Turbine Pilot Magazine - January 2012 - T-10

TURBINEPILOT
Match the pointer with the low end of the box and presto—you’re at the recommended cruise power setting. Talk about more weather anomalies: For the landing at Narsarssuaq skies were clear and winds were light. After a quick turn to gas up, it was off to SeptIles (CYZV), Quebec—970 nm and three hours, 50 minutes away. The cruise drill was the same—FL280 and torque slightly below recommended cruise for an average fuel burn of 53 gph for this, the longest of the legs. We landed with 100 gallons of fuel reserves. Not bad at all after nearly four hours en route. Waltz calls the TBM 850 a solid, 5.5-hour airplane. Make that seven hours if you dial back to long-range cruise power, meaning a ballpark cruise speed of 240 KTAS and a fuel burn of 39 gph. Landings In all, I got to log 14 hours in this particular crossing. It gave me time to come to terms with the airplane as well as its G1000, and helped underscore why those transitioning from Bonanzas and Cirruses have little trouble learning the ropes—after a pilot training course at SimCom Training Centers, the cost of which is built into the TBM 850’s $3.3 million list price. As with all airplanes, landings take some time to master. But it’s not a big deal. I hadn’t flown a TBM 850 in four years, yet I greased two landings—one at Glasgow and the other at Keflavik. The rest involved either excessive floating or a drop-in. Daher-Socata demonstration pilot Wayman Luy explained that it’s often best to plant the airplane rather than go for a smooth, roll-on landing. With any power above flight idle or any excess speed, the airplane will “float like a Mooney, so after the main gear touch down it sometimes helps to intentionally lower the nosewheel to the runway in order to get the wings at a negative angle of attack and kill any lift,” Luy said, adding that the nosegear assembly is extremely strong and up to the task. As for those drop-ins, the airplane’s flaps may be long, have an area of 40 square feet, and thus keep stall speeds low—but the wing can shed lift quickly in an aggressive flare. The airplane doesn’t have trailing-link landing gear, so any firm arrivals can seem firmer when those straight legs absorb the shock of a graceless touchdown. It’s clear that the TBM 850 is another winner, but one can’t help but wonder if there might be a TBM 900 in the works. Company officials say no, citing the lack of a suitable engine. Besides, any newairplane debates at Daher-Socata must certainly focus on the NTx—the company’s next offering. This could either be a reborn Grob SPn, a twinjet project that Daher-Socata purchased, or a twin turbine (could be a jet, could be a turboprop) that the company is unwilling to discuss now. In the meantime, the TBM 850 soldiers on as one of the most capable turboprops ever built. Email the author at tom.horne@aopa. org.

SPECSHEET
Average equipped price: $3.367 million

Daher-Socata TBM 850

Specifications
Powerplant .......... Pratt & Whitney PT6A-66D, 850-shp Length........................................................ 35 ft Height ................................................. 14 ft 3 in Wingspan............................................. 41ft 6 in Wing area ..................................... 193.75 sq ft Wing loading...............................38.16 lb/sq ft Power loading .................................. 8.7 lb/shp Seats................................................................ 6 Standard empty weight ...................... 4,762 lb Max ramp weight ................................ 7,430 lb Max takeoff weight ............................. 7,394 lb Max useful load .................................. 2,632 lb Payload w/full fuel ................................. 633 lb Max landing weight............................. 7,024 lb Fuel capacity, std ....301 gal (292 gal usable)

Performance
Takeoff distance, ground run ............ 2,035 ft Takeoff distance over 50-ft obstacle ....2,840 ft Rate of climb, sea level .................. 2,005 fpm Cruise speed/range w/NBAA IFR fuel reserves (fuel consumption), 28,000 ft @ Max power setting ........ 315 kt/1,150 nm (415 pph/62 gph) Max operating altitude ..................... 31,000 ft Sea-level cabin to ............................. 14,390 ft Landing distance over 50-ft obstacle...2,430 ft Landing distance, ground roll............ 1,840 ft

Limiting and Recommended Airspeeds
VR (rotation) .........................................90 KIAS V X (best angle of climb) .................... 100 KIAS V Y (best rate of climb) ....................... 124 KIAS VA (design maneuvering) .................. 158 KIAS VFE (max flap extended) TO position ......................................178 KIAS LDG position................................... 122 KIAS VLE (max gear extended) ....................178 KIAS VLO (max gear operating) Extend ..............................................178 KIAS Retract ............................................ 128 KIAS VMO (max operating speed) .............. 266 KIAS VS1 (stall, clean) ....................................81 KIAS VSO (stall, in landing configuration) .....65 KIAS For more information, contact Daher-Socata North America Inc., North Perry Airport, 7501 South Airport Road, Pembroke Pines, Florida 33023; 954-893-1400; www.tbm850.com All specifications are based on manufacturer’s calculations. All performance figures are based on standard day, standard atmosphere, sea level, gross weight conditions unless otherwise noted.

AOPA PILOT •

T–10 • JANUARY

2012

http://www.tbm850.com

AOPA Turbine Pilot Magazine - January 2012

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of AOPA Turbine Pilot Magazine - January 2012