Want to go fast, fly long distances, and travel in comfort? A whole bunch of expensive airplanes can do that for you, but few have the panache of the TBM series from French aircraft manufacturer Daher-Socata.
The TBM 900, part of a series of turboprop singles starting in 1990—tweaks the aerodynamic design of earlier TBMs to offer maximum cruise speeds of 330 to 335 knots while enabling a takeoff distance of 2,380 feet under standard atmospheric conditions. You’ll be burning a cool 64 gallons per hour along the way, but you can slow down to 290 knots and burn 35 gallons per hour, and at 250 knots the airplane’s gulping just 30 gallons per hour. In the TBM 900, you can reach FL310 in 17 minutes.
So we know it’s fast, but how far can it go? The TBM 900 can fly 1,730 nautical miles with standard IFR reserves—not coast to coast, but easily from Orlando, Florida, to Ontario, Canada.
Look for a five-blade Hartzell propeller; winglets; a longer dorsal fin than its predecessors; a pilot-side door; and—if you’re lucky enough to get a look inside—a Garmin G1000 avionics system; a narrow, rounder center pedestal; and front seats that have lateral support of the type found in high-end cars.
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