Could an airplane hit the bull’s-eye more squarely in today’s environment than the TBM 850? I don’t see how. The turboprop single burns about half again as much fuel as a typical piston twin, but it flies at least 100 knots faster on that fuel. And its range easily stretches out over 1,200 nm even with a little headwind. And now it has the latest in avionics technology with a three-display Garmin G1000 integrated system that features the giant 15-inch multifunction display (MFD) in the center.
The TBM has been popular as a rapid personal transportation airplane for years, but with the 850’s top cruise of 320 knots while burning 65 gallons an hour of fuel that more and more costs $8 and up per gallon, the airplane offers an almost unbelievable speed return for the fuel. Pull the power back a little and you can cruise at 280 knots or so on about 50 gallons an hour. But around the airport it slows down to the same airspeed, and thus same pilot demands, as a high-performance piston single.
