Long family trips for our sons’ far-flung sporting events, and a drawn-out move across several states to a new home combined over the past year to put me behind the wheel of the car more often than at the controls of an airplane. Still, as always, I spent much of my driving time thinking about flying. Mostly I considered how much sooner we would arrive at our destination if only we were airborne.

Flying from our old home in New Jersey to the new one in Vermont in Annie, our 1992 Commander 114B, takes less than two hours compared with at least five and a half in the car, avoiding all but the most necessary rest stops. From Vermont to Geneva, New York, to visit our younger son at school takes about an hour and 45 minutes versus seven hours driving. Vermont to Deer Isle, Maine, a favorite escape, is a shade over an hour in the airplane compared with a meandering five and a half hours behind the wheel—nearly all on backroads. 

This Article First Appeared in FLYING Magazine

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A recent driving stint of three hours to Boston Logan International Airport (KBOS) differed in that I was not thinking about flying our Commander. Instead I was repeating a mental preflight briefing for Daher Aircraft’s TBM 980, the latest evolution of the French company’s premium turboprop single.

I was about to catch an evening flight to Florida to meet with the team at Daher Aircraft‘s U.S. headquarters and hub for distribution, maintenance, repair and overhaul (MRO) at Pompano Beach Airpark (KPMP). The next morning, I would fly the TBM 980 with Paul Salvati, a TBM instructor, mentor, ferry and support pilot with Daher Aircraft. 

Considerable mental preparation lay ahead. Instead of comparing the TBM’s performance with that of the family car, I began thinking about the likely similarities and differences between it and Annie. How much faster would we reach our destinations if we flew an airplane like this?

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The answer is, at least twice as fast. With a maximum cruise speed of 330 ktas, the TBM would double the Commander’s typical 150 ktas, even if I pulled the power back to a more economical setting. This slick, six-seat express could turn many of our longer flights into short hops while encouraging us to stretch our legs. Those 1,000-mile cross-country journeys would be far less daunting.

Target Market 

The opportunity to fly the TBM 980 was of particular interest not simply because it is the fastest single-engine GA airplane on the market, but because I, in theory at least, represent the target market for this aircraft.

Like many owners of high-performance piston singles, I tend to think of each airplane as a collection of numbers including cruise speed, climb rate, range, useful load, and short-field performance. While I am happy that my airplane outperforms the Cessna 172s and Piper PA-28s in my former flying club’s fleet, I often gaze longingly at the many models with greater capability—the ones that routinely overtake Annie on long flights.

I occupy a segment of the “step-up” market, where middle-of-the-road private pilots shop for the next big thing—or the next better thing—that will speed their travel, impress their friends, and elevate their profile on the ramp. 

Among propeller-driven aircraft, the TBM 980 sits atop the step-up staircase. Its combination of comfort, technology and hot rod performance have made it and previous TBM series models objects of desire for flying families in search of higher speeds and bigger payloads. In my case, the family threatens to outgrow our airplane.

When our two sons were skinny elementary schoolers, we flew full seats and full fuel without a second thought. Today they are strapping college students and athletes. Add our two dogs, who combine for another 100 pounds, and I find myself meticulously weighing baggage and fueling to the tabs instead of the tops.

Day Arrives

I rolled into the Daher Aircraft parking lot at Pompano Beach bright, early, and eager, a bit like a child anticipating his first airplane ride. I had flown other turbines—Cirrus SF50 Vision Jet and Cessna Caravan—but not often and not after decades of admiration.

As one would expect, the front door was locked so, unable to flag down anyone inside, I walked around to the side of the building that faced the ramp. A half-dozen colorful TBMs lined the tarmac and the hangar door was wide open, revealing more airframes in various stages of disassembly, undergoing maintenance and repair. It was the aviation equivalent of a candy store.

Soon I met demo pilot Salvati, who walked me through preflight checks. A glaring contrast, favorable to the TBM, quickly emerged. Pilots are less likely to get their hands dirty during the preflight. For example, there is a sight gauge behind a hatch in the left-side engine cowling for checking the engine oil. From there you can peek into a mirror to see that the locking lever on the oil dipstick cap is properly engaged.

Salvati likes to open the right-side cowling hatch to confirm visually that the O-ring in the dipstick cap is in fact fully seated in the filler tube for a good seal—something you cannot quite see in the mirror. Still, if the sight gauge shows oil in the proper range, you do not have to pull and wipe the dipstick.

“In newer, high-end airplanes, the preflight process tends to be cleaner than in the old days,” Salvati said jokingly.

A pilot friend who decamped to Texas a few years back used to complain about the smell of oil and avgas on his hands after preflighting his Cessna 182, and wore gloves to avoid it. He would love the TBM, which, because its fuel gauges actually work, does not require opening and probing the tanks to check the fuel level.

How times have changed. My first instructor insisted that I put my finger into the tanks of the club’s Cessna 152 to make sure the fuel was topped off. I got used to the smell of avgas and eventually learned to love it.

Easy on the Ground

Once the twin switches for battery and generator were on, getting the TBM going was more relaxing than cranking Annie’s Lycoming IO-540. Instead of switching on the electric fuel pump, waiting for the gauges to register fuel pressure and flow, and making my best guess for how long to prime the engine before hitting the starter, I simply pressed the start button.

The TBM 980’s Full Authority Digital Engine Control (FADEC) handled the timing of fuel introduction and other procedures that used to make starting a turbine engine more of an adventure. Soon the engine settled to an idle, and we were cleared to taxi to Runway 24. Wide-stance main gear and a responsive, steerable nose gear give the TBM a nicely planted feel on the taxiway. I am accustomed to applying a touch of differential braking to assist Annie’s nosewheel when initiating turns. Salvati told me I would not need to do this with the TBM. “The nosewheel steering is very positive,” he said, and he was right.

The aircraft steered more like a car and less like the light aircraft I have flown previously, all of which required constant attention and adjustment to keep them from weaving back and forth across the centerline while taxiing.

With the aircraft’s solid feel on the ground comes a sense of its weight. The TBM 980 weighs 4,782 pounds empty and has a maximum takeoff weight of 7,615—more than double the Commander. The difference in overall feel reminded me of an encounter with a Beechcraft Bonanza owner while shopping for our first high-performance piston single. The pilot told me and my wife to be aware that the Bonanza is “a lot of airplane.”

That might be true, I thought as I lined up on the runway, cleared for takeoff. But the TBM is a whole lot of airplane—a big jump for a piston pilot—and the machine let me know in a pleasant yet assertive manner.

Time to Fly

“No need to hold the brakes,” Salvati said. I eased the throttle forward to full power, as smoothly as possible. The Hartzell propeller’s five wide, composite blades bit the air, and the TBM accelerated briskly. While not quite pinned in my seat by positive G forces, I felt the motivation and urgency that 850 shaft horsepower brings to the takeoff run. Salvati advised me to hold forward pressure on the yoke for positive steering.

The TBM 980’s Pratt & Whitney PT6E-66XT engine, carried over from the TBM 960, generates far more power than I am used to, but its delivery is so smooth and quiet that the takeoff run is almost tranquil compared with the dramatic roaring, vibrating version you get in a piston aircraft. 

Otherwise, the takeoff was familiar. No surprises, and just like with Annie, there was no distinct point of rotation. Around 80 ktas, the airplane began to feel light. I applied a touch of back pressure on the yoke, and we were airborne.

Pilots talk a lot about how some airplanes simply fly off the ground while others need to be rotated. My instructor was adamant about this notion. When my non-pilot friends hear this, they give me strange looks and ask if there really is a difference. There is, and in the end it just means that the TBM feels comfortably familiar on takeoff.

Once the gear and flaps were up and I homed in on the TBM 980’s best rate of climb speed of 124 ktas, we saw a 4,000 fpm rate, which felt amazing to this piston pilot, who is impressed when Annie delivers anything over 1,000 fpm. With its nose pointed steeply skyward, the TBM clawed its way into the clear blue of a perfect Florida flying day.

Performance like this is emblematic of the reasons why turbine singles have, in many cases, replaced the light piston twin as the standard step-up for high-performance GA pilots. I recently flew with an instructor in a Beechcraft Baron 55 which could not begin to compete with the TBM’s all-round capabilities. Sure, grabbing a fist full of throttles, pushing them forward, and hearing the roar of two big-bore piston engines while accelerating down the runway is a singular thrill, but it will not result in a 4,000 fpm climb—not even in a Riley Turbostream.

Miami Center cleared us through 10,000 feet, where we were still climbing at 2,000 fpm. Soon we were blasting through Annie’s 16,800 foot service ceiling and on to 24,000 feet at better than 1,500 fpm.

Although the climb rate naturally decreased during the ascent, it was always higher than I expected and seemed relentless. We reached the airplane’s service ceiling of 31,000 feet in less than 20 minutes. We were quite close to the book number of 18 minutes, 45 seconds, and likely could have nailed it had I followed the flight director more accurately.

Pressurization maintains a comfortable cabin altitude of 9,800 feet at FL 310 and gives passengers an airline-like experience without the cramped seating and fees for seat selection. Do I need to mention that pressurization is preferable to wearing the cannulas that came with Annie’s built-in oxygen system?

Truly Integrated Avionics

Ever since we started the engine, the airplane’s Garmin G3000 Prime avionics were working in the background, performing a sort of triage and displaying the information that we needed most during each phase of flight on the three 14-inch touchscreens.

The new flight deck is the main difference between the TBM 980 and TBM 960, and Daher Aircraft said it goes far beyond evolutionary improvement and transforms the way pilots interact with the aircraft. In general, it eliminates the menu-scrolling tradition that has vexed many pilots using modern glass panels. Pilots can also display any available information on any of the three screens. The combination of touch controls and a central joystick controller make screen manipulation easy and intuitive.

While new, comprehensive avionics packages often seem foreign and intimidating, the new Garmin suite felt familiar even at first glance. Like many pilots, I own an airplane with a diverse panel ranging from a Garmin GTN 750 and dual G5s to steam gauge-style altimeter, airspeed and vertical speed instruments, and ancient S-TEC autopilot. 

Despite the contrast, though, the Prime system made sense. In many ways, the Prime avionics remind me of my home-office desktop. When I set up the new workspace late last year, I treated myself to a third screen. After years of working with two, I found three screens to be the sweet spot, mainly because they allow me to arrange and keep track of three distinct sets of information. I might have an article in progress on the middle screen, a collection of statistics on the left, and live stock market updates, news, or a press conference on the right.

In the TBM 980, I probably would start with the PFD on the left and the moving map in the middle while an instructor, pilot friend, or perhaps my wife monitored radios, traffic, and weather on the right. Just like at home, I could easily move among the screens, adjusting displays at will.

Bringing It Home

Our demo flight took us about 145 nm northwest over Lakeland Linder International (KLAL) before we turned back toward Pompano Beach. The return leg gave us an opportunity to demonstrate the TBM’s rapid descent capabilities of up to 4,000 fpm under both manual and autopilot control. Just as in the climb, there was no drama, and I was able to place the autopilot settings at the top center of my left-side screen.

With vertical speed and course adjustments set, the airplane seemed ready to land itself—it can do that, using its HomeSafe emergency automatic landing system. But this was no emergency, and we took manual control about a mile from the runway.

While the TBM’s technology is a wonder, and perhaps the first such advanced system that I found truly intuitive, the real joy was in the flying. I felt a thrill every time I took manual control of the capable machine.

During the approach, it flew much like my beloved Annie—stable, forgiving, and perfectly happy gliding across the numbers at 70 ktas, which seemed incredibly slow in such a substantial aircraft. Inches above the tarmac, though, the bottom seemed to fall out, resulting in a rather “firm” arrival. We now know that Annie has at least one feature the TBM lacks—trailing-link gear, which would have softened my first TBM 980 landing. We will have to practice more.

I think just about any pilot on the fence regarding the purchase of a turbine single would land on the TBM 980’s side after a demo flight like mine. 

While the expense, training, and currency requirements certainly represent a new level of intensity for most piston pilots, I cannot think of an airplane that matches the TBM for ambitious, long-distance, owner-flown missions. 

Spec Sheet: Daher TBM 980

Base Price: $5.82M

Engine: Pratt & Whitney Canada PT6E-66XT

Power: 850 shp

Length: 35.22 ft.

Height: 14.29 ft.

Wingspan: 42.10 ft.

Cabin Width: 3.96 ft.

Cabin Height: 4 ft.

Max Takeoff Weight: 7,615 lbs.

Max Ramp Weight: 7,650 lbs.

Standard Empty Weight: 4,760 lbs.

Max Baggage: 330 lbs.

Useful Load With Full Fuel: 919 lbs.

Max Usable Fuel: 292 gal.

Service Ceiling: 31,000 ft.

Max Rate of Climb: 4,000 fpm

Max Cruise Speed: 330 ktas

Max Range, 326 ktas: 1,440 nm

Max Range, 252 ktas: 1,730 nm 

This column first appeared in the July Issue 972 of the FLYING print edition.