COCKPITS AT WAR WAKE TURBULENCE TECH AND JUDGMENT RJ PILOTS VS. THE BIG BOYS FLIPPED BY THE DRAGON’S TAIL THE MODERN PILOT’S DILEMMA

THE WORLD’S MOST WIDELY READ AVIATION MAGAZINE -JUNE 2014-

TBM 900 LOOK OUT, LIGHT JETS

p. 44

JUST SuperSTOL WE LEARN TO LEVITATE Pl DRONE

NEXTJOBS GREAT “PILOT” MARKET

FLY0614_MK1_MK1.indd 1 4/28/14 5:51 PM STORY AND PHOTOGRAPHY BY ROBERT GOYER

When French company Socata launched the single-engine turboprop TBM 700 with Mooney in 1989, many observers wondered if the airplane would ever be anything more than an DAHER-SOCATA TBM 900 aerial oddity. That’s before people began to operate it and realized the many benefi ts of having a single Pratt & Whitney PT6 up front. That fi rst TBM was long on range and speed THE FASTEST SINGLE-ENGINE TURBOPROP JUST KEEPS GETTING BETTER. — around 290 knots at high cruise — and miserly on operating costs. PHOTOS BY ROBERT BY PHOTOS GOYER

As seen in FLYINGMAG.COM / 44 / JUNE 2014 FLYINGMAG.COM / 45 / JUNE 2014 As seen in

FEAT1_TBM 900.indd 44 4/29/14 1:25 PM FEAT1_TBM 900.indd 45 4/29/14 1:25 PM THE 900 HAS A NEW CFD-DESIGNED CARBON FIBER COWLING, AIR yet-to-be announced TBM 900. The prop or the winglets. Some airplanes pXVWcUa^\bd]]h2dbcX] ETgPb c^ when they get winglets look as INLET AND EXHAUST TO snowy Piqua was great fun, and fast though they had them tacked on like CUT DRAG AND BOOST too. We were seeing better than 280 an aftermarket spoiler on a cheap PERFORMANCE. knots true from the old bird, an in- car. The TBM 900 looks like it was crease in 2 knots, said Wayman Q^a]fXcWXcb]TfRda[TS”d_cX_b:c Luy, who has a couple of thousand [^^Zbb^V^^S X]UPRc cWPc:¬\QTc- hours in that particular airplane, so cX]Vb^\TTgXbcX]VE3>^f]Tab_dc :¬[[cPZTWXbf^aSU^aXc;dbcPbX\- money down on a 900 just because it portantly, the new prop made the [^^Zbb^VaTPc:cf^d[S]¬cQTcWT 700 quieter, smoother and better at oabccX\TbdRWPcWX]VWPbWP__T]TS PRRT[TaPcX]VP]SR[X\QX]V:¬[[[Tc You don’t get a 15- to 20-knot im- our readers debate the looks of the provement in top-cruise speed by new mill. making an airplane prettier, how- 2b\dRWUd]PbphX]VP]hE3>Xb  ever, and the truth is the company fWPc:aTP[[hfP]cTSc^S^fPbph used a multiprong approach to dra- ^]TfXcWfX]V[Tcb:V^c\hRWP]RTP matically improving the TBM’s al- week after Sun ’n Fun down in south ready impressive numbers. Florida at Daher-Socata North America’s headquarters at cozy NEW IN MANY WAYS ?^acWATaah2Xa_^ac3TU^aT:V^cc^ Very seldom are major aircraft man- phcWTz{{ cW^dVW :WPScWTQ[Tbb- ufacturers successful at keeping ing and the curse of having to/ their secret programs secret, but in getting to photograph it on two the case of the TBM 900, Daher-

THE NEW HARTZELL COMPOSITE FIVE-BLADE PROP GIVES THE TBM 900 GREATER ACCELERATION, IMPROVED CLIMB AND CRUISE, AND QUIETER OPERA- TION. IT’S AVAILABLE ON NEW AND EXISTING TBMS.

air-to-air missions, one in the eve- Socata kept the rumor-safe shut ]X]VP]S^]TTPa[hcWT]Tgc\^a]- tight. The program, called the “Cen- X]V:bPhXcfPbPQ[TbbX]VQTRPdbT tury Project” internally, has been in the airplane is very pretty to look at, the works for a few years now and especially from my vantage point takes advantage of technologies not peering at it though the barn-door- available to the company when the size opening where the Piper airplane was born a quarter of a Seneca’s back door usually resides, century ago. Chief among these is P]S:bPhRdabTQTRPdbT:WPSc^ R^\_dcPcX^]P[pdXSSh]P\XRb fPcRWb^\T^]TT[bTphXccWPcfW^[T —475˜ fWXRWTgXbcTSQdcfPbQT- time instead of me. yond the reach of a company like EWTTg_TaXT]RT^UphX]VcWTz{{ D^RPcPPccWTcX\T:]aTf^aZX]VcWT hat formula hasn’t gross weight, top speed, safety fea- design limit. After all, how much instead of at least twice that for aTP[[hXb]^cXRTPQ[hQTccTacWP]ph- 900, Daher-Socata engineers made changed in the past 25 cdaTbP]SX]cTaX^aaTo]T\T]cb: faster can you push a design that light jets. ing the 850, and some of the 900’s TgcT]bXeTdbT^U475X]^aSTac^ years, but the TBM pTfcWTPXa_[P]TPR^d_[T^UhTPab started life as a 292-knot airplane? :¬eTQTT]S^X]VP[^c^UE3>phX]V enhancements come with the ben- minimize drag. While that sounds has, going through as ago soon after it got its Garmin Apparently, a lot faster. Thanks to cWT_PbcR^d_[T^U\^]cWb oabcX]P Toc^UX\_a^eTSbPUTchP]SdcX[Xch simple enough, nothing could be many as nine itera- G1000 panel and was happy that we a host of ingenious improvements TBM 700 belonging to Hartzell Pro- More dramatic are those improve- further from the truth. After analy- tionsT (depending on how one saw a high-cruise airspeed of and technology advancements, the peller, the company with the house- ments associated with performance. sis of the airframe, several major counts the model changes) and im- around 315 knots at 28,000 feet. new TBM 900 can cruise at 28,000 hold name (at least in aviation The 900 is faster, it’s more fuel ef- PaTPb^UX]TUoRXT]RhQTRP\TR[TPa proving with every one. Up to now, That’s fast for a single. Heck, it’s feet under standard conditions at households anyway) located in qui- oRXT]c XcR[X\QbQTccTa XcdbTb[Tbb EWTR^f[X]V ]^fX]RPaQ^]oQTa  the move to the TBM 850, a 2006 fast for just about any turboprop. 330 knots. For the record, that kind et Piqua, Ohio, that has become the runway both coming and going, and fPbTgcT]bXeT[haTSTbXV]TSc^Rdc Flying Editor’s Choice Award win- With the 850, a lot of folks might of speed encroaches upon the buffer most advanced propeller maker on SXS:\T]cX^]W^f_aTcchXcXb drag and improve cooling, with a ner, was arguably the model that have concluded that the company, zone that previously separated most cWT_[P]TcEWTx{{:pTffPb^dc- :¬\]^cbdaTfWPc]TfUTPcdaT: big inlet below the prop. The wings, \PSTcWT\^bcbXV]XoRP]cX\_a^eT- despite its top-notch aerodynami- cdaQ^_a^_bUa^\[XVWcYTcb:cS^TbXc  occTSfXcW9PaciT[[¬b]TfoeT”Q[PST ]^cXRTSoabc^]cWTz{{ QdcXc¬b^]T while not redesigned, were given

ment to the type, with increased cists and engineers, had reached the let’s remember, on around 60 gph TK BY PHOTO _a^_STbXV]TSTg_aTbb[hU^acWT ^Ucf^cWX]Vb cWT]TfoeT”Q[PST winglets, which did a few important

As seen in FLYINGMAG.COM / 46 / JUNE 2014 FLYINGMAG.COM / 47 / JUNE 2014 As seen in

FEAT1_TBM 900.indd 46 4/29/14 1:25 PM FEAT1_TBM 900.indd 47 4/29/14 1:25 PM THE GARMIN G1000 COCKPIT IS UPDATED WITH NEW YOKES, ALL- three seconds, you bring the lever THE TBM 900’S NEW off the stop to introduce fuel and NEW POWER QUADRANT POWER QUADRANT then monitor the temps just as you’d MECHANICALLY COMBINES AND A STYLISH normally do. Once you’ve got a POWER, CONDITION AND HIGH-END DESIGN. V^^SbcPac h^d\^eTcWT[TeTaoa\” [hc^cWT[TUc:cXb]^fcWTcWadbc PROP LEVERS, CREATING (and reverse thrust) lever. A sepa- AN INGENIOUS SINGLE- rate emergency override lever gives LEVER SOLUTION. the pilot fail-safe control. EPgXX]VcWTz{{UTT[bUPbcTac^\T  cW^dVWHPh\P]S^Tb]¬ccWX]ZXcXb: cWX]ZcWToeT”Q[PSTaVXeTbcWTPXa” plane a bit more thrust at idle. On cWTcPZT^UUa^[[ cWTTgcaPcWadbc from the 850 shp is an eye-opener. The TBM always seems to leap off STANDARD ON THE 900 the runway, but the 900 seems to IS A PILOT’S DOOR, accelerate much faster than the WHICH WAS FORMERLY 850, an observation with which Wayman readily agrees. AN OPTION. THE DOOR 4[X\Q”^dcXbUPbc:cfPbPeTah LOOKS THE SAME BUT warm spring day, but at best rate of HAS BEEN STRUCTURALLY climb we were seeing a steady rate REDESIGNED TO BE MORE of 2,000 fpm. With three of us on DURABLE AND EASIER board — photo ship pilot Bruce TO OPERATE. Moore came along for the trip — plus a good bit of gear and full fuel, we had a healthy load too. After a number of level-offs due c^R^]pXRcX]VPXa[X]TcaPUoR fTfTaT o]P[[hR[TPaTSc^7=sy{5PWTa” Socata says the 900 will get up to FL tr{X]ry\X]dcTb:S^]¬cS^dQcXc  THE WINGLETS, NEW ON but we didn’t get to see it that day. THE 900, IMPROVE THE At 28,000 feet, the optimum alti- TBM’S PERFORMANCE, things. First, they kept the spanwise UPSTRAEw cWTE3>XbcWT]TgcQTbc fPbc^R[X\Qc^sy {{{UTTc VTcP] tude for the 900 compared with CUTTING DRAG AND p^fP[^]VcWTfX]VUa^\b_X[[X]V cWX]V fXcWP_^fTaR^]ca^[d]Xc XSTP^UW^fcWTz{{S^TbPcP[cX- 26,000 feet for the 850, we saw 324 ^eTa PSSX]VTUoRXT]Rh\^bc[hQh cWPcR^\QX]TbcWadbc _a^_T[[TaP]S cdST STbRT]SU^ab^\TPXaf^aZ  Z]^cbcadTPXab_TTSPc:D2¥y PbX]” IMPROVING THE FEEL STRaTPbX]VSaPVEWThP[b^X]- R^]SXcX^][TeTabQhdbX]VP]X]VT- P]ScWT]V^VaPQb^\TbTPU^^SU^a gle knot over book value, which lists AND ACCURACY OF RaTPbTScWTTUUTRcXeTfX]Vb_P]^U ]X^dbP[[”\TRWP]XRP[\XgTaAX[^cb [d]RWPc6eTaV[PSTb4Xch tt{Z]^cbPc:D2U^acWPcbP\TP[cX” THE AILERONS. cWTPXa_[P]T PVPX]X]RaTPbX]V[XUc dbTPbX]V[T[TeTacWPcPUcTabcPac”d_ 2]^cWTaX\_a^eT\T]cU^acWTz{{ tude. At that level, we were burning 7X]P[[h cWThX\_a^eTScWTWP]S[X]V b[XSTbc^cWT[TUcc^bTaeTPbcWT :¬[[\T]cX^]]^fXbcWTbcP]SPaS_X- around 60 gallons of jet-A per hour ^UcWTPX[Ta^]b fXcWb^\TaT_^acX]V cWadbc[TeTa \PZX]VXcX\_^bbXQ[Tc^ [^cS^^aHWX[TPS^^aWPSQTT] per engine, of which there is, of b\^^cWTaa^[[aTb_^]bTP]S^cWTab VaPQcWTfa^]V[TeTaPccWTfa^]V PePX[PQ[T_aTeX^db[h XcXbbcP]SPaS course, only one. VaTPcTaR^]ca^[UTT[E^\T XcUT[cPb cX\TEWTcTRW]^[^VhXbPR[TPaR^\- ^]cWTz{{ P]ScWTR^]bcadRcX^]^U :]STTS cWTz{{VXeTb_X[^cbP[^c XUQ^cWfTaTcadTEWPc¬bP[^c^U _TcXcXeTPSeP]cPVTU^a5PWTa”D^RPcP cWTS^^a \X[[TSP[d\X]d\bdQ- more speed while covering the same QP]VU^aP_PXa^UfX]V[Tcb P]SPQXVfX]U^a_X[^cb bcadRcdaTX]bcTPS^UQdX[c”d_R^]- distance as the 850 or a lot more EWTz{{aTcPX]bcWTbP\TAaPcc› EWTh^ZTbWPeTP[b^QTT]aTST- bcadRcX^] Xb]TfPbfT[[9PeX]VP Va^d]SPccWTbP\Tb_TTSb:c¬bP HWXc]ThAEw2”ww5cdaQ^_a^_T]VX]T bXV]TSEWThPaT\^aTR^\_PRc ]XR- _X[^cS^^a\PZTb[XUTTPbXTa PbP[[ win in either direction for the new A NEWLY DESIGNED PbX]cWTE3>yv{ Qdc5PWTa”D^RPcP Tac^WP]S[TP]SPccaPRcXeT:SXS]¬c h^d]TTSc^S^XbR[X\QX] _d[[d_ ZXSEWTaP]VTP]Sb_TTS_a^o[TXb VENTRAL FIN GIVES THE WPb\PSTPUTfRWP]VTbcWPc\PZTXc [XZTW^fWXVWcWTcaX\Qdcc^]a^bT cWTbcT_P]SR[^bTcWTS^^aX]bcTPS impressive. At 295 knots, the high TBM GREATLY ENHANCED UTT[PbcW^dVWXcfTaTP]P[[”]Tf_^fTa Ua^\cWTT]S^UcWTh^ZTW^a]:c ^UWPeX]Vc^V^cWa^dVWcWT_a^RTbb RadXbToVdaTU^acWTyv{QdcP]TPbh SLOW SPEED AND HIGH- _[P]c7^abcPacTab cWTE3>RP]\PZT fPbP]PfZfPaSbcaTcRWU^aP]PR- ^U^_T]X]VP]SR[^bX]VcWTQXV\PX] trot for the 900, the new airplane POWER CONTROLLABILITY, dbT^Uyv{bW_U^acPZT^UUcWP]Zbc^P cX^]h^d]TTSc^_TaU^a\P[\^bc _PbbT]VTaS^^aQTU^aTR[X\QX]V will cover almost 1,600 nm. ALLOWING THE AIRPLANE ]Tfc^a`dT[X\XcTa b^cPZT^UUa^[[bPaT R^]bcP]c[hSdaX]VST_PacdaTb cWa^dVWcWTRPQX]c^cWTUa^]cbTPcb That means that trips that require aTSdRTSEPZT^UUPcbcP]SPaSR^]SX- P]SPaaXeP[b EWTPSSXcX^]^UcWT_X[^cS^^aPb a fuel stop for an airplane like the TO USE FAR GREATER cX^]bPc\PgfTXVWcaT`dXaTb^][hs ty{ bcP]SPaSXbWdVT Citation Mustang or the Phenom TAKEOFF POWER. UTTc^eTaPv{”U^^c^QbcPR[TEWPc¬bX\- FLYING A FAST TURBOPROP EWTbcPacbT`dT]RTXb]¬cSXUUTaT]c 100 will be easy pickings for the _aTbbXeTU^aPx tzu”_^d]SPXa_[P]T :fT]cphX]VcWTz{{fXcW5PWTa” Ua^\cWPc^]_aTeX^dbE3>b TgRT_c TBM 900, just as they were for the EWT^_TaPcX^]^UcWTT]VX]TXbP[[ D^RPcP_X[^cP]SU^a\PcX^]pXTaTg- cWPch^ddbTPbX]V[T[TeTa2UcTa 850. Only with the 900, you get ]Tfc^^HWX[Th^dRP]¬chTcVTcP caP^aSX]PXaTHPh\P]=dhEWT_[P] W^[SX]VS^f]cWTbcPacbfXcRWU^a there a lot faster.

FLYINGMAG.COM / 49 / JUNE 2014 As seen in FLYINGMAG.COM / 48 / JUNE 2014 As seen in

FEAT1_TBM 900.indd 48 4/29/14 2:16 PM FEAT1_TBM 900.indd 49 4/29/14 1:25 PM EWTRPQX]Xb]XRTc^^:c¬bPbcP]- dard club cabin, but Daher-Socata offers it in an easily convertible form as well. You can add a potty RWPXa Qdc_aXePRhXb]^cXSTP[:c¬bP family or emergency affair. Then again, smaller airplanes, even trans- portation airplanes, are often com- promised in this regard. The increase in horsepower for the 900 wasn’t a question of struc- ture or power but of controllability PcTgcaT\T[hb[^fb_TTSbP]STg- tremely high power. The addition of the winglets and newly designed strakes, Daher-Socata’s Michel De Villiers told me, went a long way 2014 Daher-Socata TBM 900 toward proving the additional sta- ;OL;)4 ^LÅL^MVY[OPZWPLJL^HZHULHYS`MHJ[VY`KLTVUZ[YH- bility needed to pass that one criti- [VY;OL;)4 ZWVY[Z^PUNSL[ZHUKHWV^LYJVU[YVSTP_LYHUK cal test. MLH[\YLZ[OL.HYTPU.^P[OK\HSPUJO7-+ZHUKHPUJO That dose of power works mira- 4-+HSVUN^P[O.HYTPU^LH[OLYYHKHY:PYP\Z?4KH[HSPUR^LH[OLY cles, giving the 900 outstanding .HYTPU.-*H\[VTH[PJÅPNO[JVU[YVSZ`Z[LTHWWYVHJOJOHY[Z bW^ac”oT[SRP_PQX[XcXTb fWXRW^_T]b :HML;H_P\[PSP[`;(>:[YHMÄJH]VPKHUJLHUKH^HYLULZZ,:7LU]L- a world of opportunity (the world of SVWLWYV[LJ[PVUHUKTVYL short strips in cool places) for the TBM 900. Everglades Airpark is only APPROXIMATE PRICE, AS TESTED MAX ZERO FUEL WEIGHT 2,400 feet long, but with my far less $3.71 million 6,032 pounds cWP]T[TVP]ccTRW]X`dT :fPbPQ[T to get it down and stopped with a ENGINE MAX USABLE FUEL lot of room to spare. Getting out of Pratt & Whitney PT6A-66D 291 gallons town — after a tasty lunch of fried TBO PRESSURIZATION DIFFERENTIAL clams and shrimp and conch chow- 3,500 hours 6.2 psi der at Triad downtown — was just PbTPbh:SXS]¬cTeT]WPeTc^W^[S CABIN LENGTH 8,000-FOOT CABIN 13.3 feet @ FL 280 the brakes. EWTo]P[[P]SX]V^UcWTSPh QPRZ MAX CABIN WIDTH MAX RATE OF CLIMB at North Perry, was about as good as 3.9 feet 124 kias \hoabcUTfTUU^acb cWa^dVW]^UPd[c MAX CABIN HEIGHT MANEUVERING SPEED ^UcWTPXa_[P]T:f^d[SWPeT[XZTS 4 feet 158 kias c^WPeTp^f]U^aPUTf\^aTW^dab and done a dozen circuits or so, but SEATS TAKEOFF, 50-FOOT OBSTACLE :¬S[TPa]TS_[T]chPQ^dccWTPXa- 6 1,385 feet plane, and it was heading off any- LENGTH LANDING, 50-FOOT OBSTACLE way. Wayman was taking it to a 35.1 feet 2,430 feet prospect in central Florida. Like all of the sales guys at Daher-Socata, HEIGHT MAX CRUISE 14.3 feet 330 ktas, 28,000 feet, ISA Wayman has been busy the last cou- ple of months showing the 900 to WINGSPAN FUEL FLOW, MAX CRUISE very interested prospects, many of 42.1 feet 64.1 gph them current TBM owners. WING LOADING FUEL FLOW, LONG RANGE :cR^\TbPb]^bda_aXbTc^\T 38.16 pounds per square foot 39.1 gph, 244 ktas As has been the case with every new introduction to the TBM family, POWER LOADING MAX OPERATING ALTITUDE the latest, the TBM 900, is the best 8.7 pounds/shp 31,000 feet yet by a long shot. The gorgeous MAX RAMP WEIGHT MMO [X]Tb cWTb_TTS cWTcTRWaTo]T- 7,430 pounds 271 kcas ments and the improved perfor- MAX TAKEOFF WEIGHT STALLING, MTOW mance across the board combine 7,394 pounds 65 kias with all the strengths of a well-proven product to make the TBM 900 a tremendous success.

As seen in FLYINGMAG.COM / 50 / JUNE 2014

FEAT1_TBM 900.indd 50 4/29/14 1:25 PM