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turbopropThe with The TBM 940 has the most advanced cockpit in a turobprop – big-jet Tom Horne takes one for a flight dreams

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MAGAZINE 04.2019 FREE TO MEMBERS WWW.AOPA.CO.UK 34 COVER STORY TBM 940

AOPA Aircraft Owner and Pilot April 2020 35

WORDS Thomas A. Horne (Copyright 2019, Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association. Reprinted with permission) IMAGES Daher Socata turbopropThe big-jetwith

The ultimate personaldreams turboprop gets big-jet automation with an autothrottle

April 2020 AOPA Aircraft Owner and Pilot 36 COVER STORY TBM 940

OU expect to see the aeroplane’s boots on Fight the corrective inputs autothrottles a repeating cycle. No pilot "It's broken the and the servos will fight gracing the action is necessary, although mould and thrown back. To prevent accidents Y cockpits of there’s also a way of manually from hypoxia-induced high-end turbofans, but a running the ice-protection down a challenge incapacitation, upon sensing single-engine turboprop? components. It’s another a cabin altitude above Never. Well, don’t look transport-category equipment to other single- 11,500 feet, the aeroplane’s now, because there’s a new item that’s a first among GA engine turboprop Emergency Descent Mode TBM on the market – the turboprops. (EDM) kicks in – the aeroplane TBM 940. And yes, it has The latest TBM 910s and manufacturers" turns 90 degrees, squawks an autothrottle system. 940s also retain what TBM 7700, and descends to 15,000 Which means it’s broken calls its 'e-Copilot' to the feet. the mould and thrown standard equipment package, In case you were too down a challenge to other which began with 2017’s TBM task-loaded or inattentive, a single-engine turboprop 910 and 930, and continues in comprehensive voice alert manufacturers. Will they today’s 910 and 940 models system – gone are the old rise to the challenge? We’ll (which replace the former warning beeps and horns have to wait and see. TBM 900 and 930). – sounds off to get your What’s more, the TBM The e-Copilot has several attention: “use oxygen mask” if 940 has a new, automatic functions that keep the cabin altitude is above 10,000 ice-protection system. This aircraft within its design feet, “landing gear” if the gear uses an industry-standard envelope by preventing stalls, is up and either the power is Goodrich ice-detection probe over- and underspeeds, or at idle or flaps are extended, mounted on the vertical excessive bank angles. Allow and “stall, stall” if airspeed stabiliser. The probe vibrates airspeed to rise near redline gets too slow. If a stall is at a high frequency; when and the Garmin autopilot imminent and you somehow ice accretes on the probe will automatically trim the missed the verbal warning, an the change in this frequency aeroplane nose-up; allow angle-of-attack sensor drives triggers the ice-protection it to drift near stall country a stick shaker that physically system into action, causing a and it will trim nose-down. vibrates the control column. message on the Crew Alerting Bank past 45 degrees, and Now that’s hard to miss. System (CAS) and inflating roll servos bring you upright. Taken together, this is an

Bank past 45 degrees, and roll servos will bring you back to upright

AOPA Aircraft Owner and Pilot April 2020 37

The TBM family of turboprops are instantly recognisable

April 2020 AOPA Aircraft Owner and Pilot 38 COVER STORY TBM 940

impressive cohort of safety- by its own battery pack variety of sources – such enhancement and workload- "Autothrottles and magnetometer. Having as current airspeed, angle reduction equipment. adjust engine the latter allowed Daher to of attack, throttle position, Together with the G3000 eliminate the old-school, engine power output, avionics suite (in the TBM power to produce glareshield-mounted density altitude, aircraft 940; TBM 910s now have magnetic compass. configuration, and more – Garmin G1000NXi avionics), a selected are fed into software that FlightStream 510 Wi-Fi/ airspeed" AUTOTHROTTLE BRIEFING in turn crunches algorithms Bluetooth tablet information Let’s get this out of the way that send commands to the exchange connectivity, up front: both the TBM 910 940’s fuel control unit. These ADS-B In and Out, FIS-B and TBM 940 have e-Copilot commands, in turn, increase capability, and SurfaceWatch (Garmin’s Electronic Stability or decrease power to meet a runway advisory callouts and and underspeed Protection selected airspeed. depictions, you probably [ESP], plus EDM), stick shaker, There are ways to activate have one of the most feature- and automatic ice protection. and turn off the autothrottle, rich panels on the general Only the TBM 940 comes with and other ways to select a aviation market today. There’s an autothrottle. desired airspeed. You can also a new, Mid-Continent Autothrottles adjust turn it on by pressing the AT MD302, two-screen attitude/ engine power to produce button on the glareshield airspeed/altitude/heading a selected airspeed. In the control panel or, when backup display, powered TBM 940, inputs from a making a missed approach/

AOPA Aircraft Owner and Pilot April 2020 39

go-around, pressing the go- manually, move the inner and service center at the around (GA) button at the collar until it points to the Pompano Beach Airpark in "To select an side of the power lever. You MAN (manual) position, Florida. airspeed manually, can turn it off by pressing then rotate the central knob There’s no flipping through the power lever’s AT DISC until you see the airspeed the pilot’s operating handbook move the inner button, or the yoke-mounted you want at the top of the to find the right torque setting autopilot-trim disconnect airspeed tape on the PFD. for the temperature and collar until it points (AP/TRIM DISC) button. You pressure altitude at hand. to the MAN can select an airspeed using AUTOTHROTTLE FLYING After engine start, we taxied the SPD knob, also on the I flew one of the first TBM to Pompano’s Runway 15. position" glareshield panel. To call up 940s with Nicolas Chabbert, It’s worth mentioning that a set of pre-programmed Senior Vice President of the TBM’s start procedure airspeeds for climb, cruise Daher’s Aeroplane Business is about as automated as it or descent, rotate the Unit. The aeroplane had just can get without being FADEC- knob’s inner collar to the arrived from the factory in equipped. After engaging the FMS position. Then you can Tarbes, France, still bearing start switch, you wait for an use the Garmin GTC 580 its French registration NG (gas generator) speed touchscreen controllers on letters, and on its way to EAA of 13 per cent, then move the subpanel to select the AirVenture in Oshkosh. For the power lever forward to speed regimes you want. the time being, it was based the Low Idle position. Light- To select an airspeed out of the TBM distribution off comes next, followed

April 2020 AOPA Aircraft Owner and Pilot 40 COVER STORY TBM 940

The 940 has instant ramp appeal

AOPA Aircraft Owner and Pilot April 2020 41 by a rise in interstage controller, then putting FMS mode and we called turbine temperature (ITT). "Get on the the speed knob in the FMS up the cruise page on the After NG reaches the 50 position (we’d selected a VY GTC 580. There’s a choice per cent mark the starter brakes, push – 124 knot – climb speed in – maximum cruise, normal/ cuts out and the generator the power lever the climb profile earlier). Then recommended cruise, long- automatically comes on line. press the AT button. Get on range cruise, or a user- A new depiction on the MFD to 70 per cent the brakes, push the power selected cruise speed. We prioritises the engine gauge torque and the lever up to 70 per cent torque picked maximum cruise. And display based on first limit (now the torquemeter is just like that, the autothrottle identification. This feature autothrottle wakes prominent on the MFD), and advanced power. This is presents a single gauge – not the autothrottle wakes up, one more advantage of the vertical array of multiple up" taking power to 100 per cent autothrottle flying. There’s no gauges – based on the most torque. After brake release, flipping through the pilot’s critical information needed for steer down the centreline, operating handbook to find a given phase of operation. wait for 90 knots, and rotate the right torque setting So, during the start the NG into an aggressive climb to for the temperature and gauge appears first, and then your selected altitude while pressure altitude at hand. is replaced by the ITT gauge following the flight-planned The autothrottle takes care as light-off begins. The result route. of power management, no is less clutter, while the other That day, we flew out to the matter what cruise setting gauges’ information – torque Everglades. For an en route you select. For the record, and propeller speed, for climb, the speed knob was our maximum cruise speed example – are presented in put in manual mode and we turned out to be 320 KTAS, smaller views nearby. dialled in a 170-knot climb burning 58 gph. With our 255 Pre-take-off checks and then pressed the flight- or so gallons of fuel remaining complete, it’s time for line-up level change (FLC) button to on board we could have and take-off – an autothrottle activate it. Within 14 minutes flown from Pompano Beach take-off. The first step is we were leveling off at FL280 to, say, Oshkosh – in no-wind to arm the command bars on autopilot, even in Florida’s conditions. by pressing the GA button, above-standard conditions. With the heat of the day, followed by pressing the NAV For a cruise demonstration, a line of build-ups came button on the glareshield the SPD knob was put into between us and Florida’s east

With a range of 1,730 nm the 940 is perfect for channel hops and trips further afield

April 2020 AOPA Aircraft Owner and Pilot 42 COVER STORY TBM 940 coast. We’d have to fly through nose the aeroplane up into There was pattern work some of the tamer ones to fly "And get this: the a stall. Up went the nose, after, and on one approach back to Pompano Beach, so a 940's autothrottle and down went the airspeed. a look at an autothrottle go- speed reduction was in order. Passing through 95 knots, around. Hand-flying or not, if In order to ride the bumps honours airspeed the autothrottle added you press the power lever’s safely, we used manual speed power to preserve airspeed. GA button the command control to slow the aeroplane limitations for flap It was a demonstration of bars rise to a climb attitude, to 160 knots. You can leave and landing gear how the autothrottle works the autothrottle spools up FMS mode at any time and go in the background, waiting to take-off power, and up to MAN autothrottle speed extension" to prevent any airspeed you go. Flaps approach, gear selection (and back again) for excursions. And get this: the up, flaps up, press NAV for just such eventualities. Just 940’s autothrottle honours missed approach guidance, remember to select flight level airspeed limitations for flap dial in 124 kt in Manual mode, change (FLC) to capture a and landing gear extension. and you’re now doing a good manually selected airspeed. Try to fly so you're on the way 2,000 fpm to your missed Our aircraft had the optional to exceeding the limits, and approach altitude, which was Garmin GWX70 weather radar, the autothrottle automatically set in the altitude selector with turbulence detection. XM dials back the power. before the descent. TBMs and FIS-B datalink weather On autopilot and are fast, and can be easy and meant we could see autothrottle, before to get behind them during cell shapes, extent, and intercepting the final distractions or when workload development in real time, approach course to Pompano is high. The autothrottle plus you can overlay the radar Beach’s RNAV GPS Runway makes sure that you fly target on the MFD moving map for 15 we manually set and FLC- speeds efficiently, and without better situational awareness. enabled a speed reduction jockeying for the correct This meant we could weave to 170 knots and went to torque values. Together with our way to an approach back approach flaps. At the final its autopilot and e-Copilot, to Pompano Beach, confident approach fix, we lowered it has all the safety features that we had a safe way of the gear, went to 110, then you’d expect of such a great manoeuvring in cloud. 85 knots and selected performer. Step-up pilots as While hand-flying without landing flaps. Down we well as old hands may be new autothrottle during our went, punching off all the to the idea of autothrottles, passage through a clear automation at minimums and but once they log a couple area, Chabbert asked me to landing. hours they’ll be hooked. • TECH SPEC Daher-Socata TBM 940

PERFORMANCE Time to climb to 31,000 ft: 18m 45s Fuel Capacity: 1,100 litres Engine: P&W PT6A-66D Range: 1,730 nm 3,204 km Max. ramp weight: 7,430 lb 3,370 kg Cruising speed: 252 KTAS 467 kmh Seats: 6 Power: 1,825 hp DIMENSIONS Max cruise speed: 330 KTAS 611 kmh WEIGHTS Wing span: 42.10 ft 12.833 m Take-off distance: 2,380 ft 726 m Basic empty weight: 4,629 lb 2,097 kg Length: 35.22 ft 10.736 m Landing distance: 2,430 ft 741 m MTOW: 7,394 lb 3,354 kg Height: 14.29 ft 4.355 m Service ceiling: 31,000 ft Payload: 1,403 lb 636 kg Wheelbase: 9.56 ft 2.914 m

AOPA Aircraft Owner and Pilot April 2020 43

The TBM 940's new autothrottle was a big hit with our author

April 2020 AOPA Aircraft Owner and Pilot