TBM 850 Still Fast With Glass
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The price shown below is for 2009 because the order book for 2008 is full. All data comes from the airplane flight manual and reflects standard day conditions unless noted.
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Despite its enormous capability -- or more accurately because of it -- the new G1000 system saves a little more than 100 pounds of weight in a typical 850. Some of the weight savings comes from the consolidation of dozens of flight and engine instruments into the three glass displays, but much of it results from savings in wire weight. Most of the sensors in the G1000 systems are modules that connect to the rear of the displays. In the previous system each sensor, whether it be for GPS/nav/comm or attitude, had to be linked to a dedicated display by wire bundles. In the earlier airplanes the autopilot is a distinct system with need for wires to connect it to all sorts of equipment including air data, attitude, nav sources and so on. Now the GFC 700 autopilot is essentially built into the G1000 system with need for wires to link it to only a few remote elements such as the servos.
As I walked around the new 850 preparing for flight I was again impressed by the obvious strength and purposeful nature of the design. The wing is quite thick with a nearly constant chord. But with a span of more than 41 feet the aspect ratio is high. That's what you want for an airplane to climb quickly to its certified ceiling of 31,000 feet, but still deliver predictable low-speed flying qualities and stall characteristics. The wing was designed from scratch for a specific altitude and speed profile and delivers with minimum compromise.
The large cabin door that was originally designed as a utility door offers easy access to the cabin. Seats -- even though they meet all of the latest crashworthiness G-loading standards -- can be removed by pulling a couple of pins. Many TBM owners find it convenient to fly without the left-side rear-facing center row seat, making it easier to reach the pilot seats and giving rear-seat passengers more room. Socata is building some TBMs with a forward pilot door, which some people love and others are happy to do without. The pilot door's weight chews up nearly all of the gains from the G1000 system and adds nearly $90,000 to the price. I would happily live without it. The already comfortable interior of the 850 has been upgraded in the new model with excellent leathers.
Socata chose to use the pilot's PFD in a composite mode as the initial startup display. In composite mode both engine and flight instruments are combined on a single display just as they would be if a display failed in flight. With this display you see the engine instruments to monitor the start, while the AHRS is aligning. When you turn on the avionics power, the rest of the system comes to life. The big MFD can display system synoptic pages so you can check the operation of the electrical system with its multiple buses and dual generators, or look at a detailed fuel status page. The CAS messages tell you what's left to do before takeoff, such as turn on pitot and stall warning heats.
For takeoff in the new 850 it is recommended that you still trim the rudder pretty far right to an index mark on the scale using a rocker switch under your thumb on the control wheel. This counteracts propeller effects on takeoff and initial climb. However, once in flight with the rudder trimmed a new automatic rudder trim feature of the G1000 yaw damper takes over and keeps the rudder trimmed for the remainder of the flight.
The TBM 850 flies like any other powerful single, except that it has more power than most. With 130 knots selected in the FLC (flight level change) mode the long nose points to the sky and keeps going up. On a standard temperature day the airplane can get to 25,000 feet in about 14 minutes. Pretty good for only one engine. And all 850s are eligible for RVSM approval so they can fly up to the certified ceiling of 31,000 feet instead of the maximum 28,000 feet for non-RVSM airplanes.
Socata converted the 850's cabin pressurization controls to an electronic system, but for some reason kept the mechanical dial where you set cruise altitude and field elevation. All other pressurization information such as cabin altitude, rate of climb and PSI are shown on the MFD, so it's odd that the system wasn't completely automated, but the workload is hard to complain about with only one required setting.
I don't know what to say about the operation of the G1000 system that you haven't read before. I watched it fly a full RNAV approach including procedure turn, glidepath capture and miss to a holding pattern entry. I could look at a Jeppesen chart of the procedure, or a map over topographical colors, or XM Weather and all of the things we have come to expect from current avionics systems. The 850 does not yet have Garmin's synthetic vision technology (SVT) but will as soon as it is approved in Europe and then the United States. It will be a software change to that exciting new safety capability.
SimCom, the training provider for the TBM, will be training pilots on the G1000 system as well as basic airplane systems in its simulator. There is also a procedures trainer with a functioning G1000 system so pilots can practice using the new avionics suite in addition to the sim. Because the 850 weighs less than 12,500 pounds no type rating is required, but every pilot will want to complete the G1000 training to become comfortable with the system and to learn how to extract the most useful of its capabilities. The previous models had electronic attitude and HSI displays along with Garmin GNS 530s, so pilots from those airplanes will have a good start on understanding the new avionics.
The TBM has long been attractive for its speed, range and good flying qualities, but when you add its remarkable fuel efficiency at high speeds it really is the airplane to beat in today's world of sky high fuel prices. With its G1000 cockpit, the last wish I had on the list has been checked off.
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