TBM 850 Review

[HawkDsl 50]

Thanks for the info Hanger... I've got allot of reading to do on this bird.

[Knoxpilot 0]

Hey guys, thanks for the compliments on the review.  I've been doing a little real world flying today, so I still haven't gotten to play around the the TBM sim anymore.  I'm hoping to try out the cruise power settings a bit more this evening and take a look at the numbers a little closer.  I can say that last night, at a quick glance, they weren't nearly as off as some people are claiming.  I think I noticed a TAS of around 290 something, at FL280.  I can't recall what the temps were though.

 

It is important to realize, as some of you have pointed out already, that the TBM 850 does in deed have an "850" notch on the flaps.  During ground ops and take off profiles, the flaps should be in the UP or TO (takeoff) position.  This simply means (other than the flap position) that the torque limiter is engaged on the engine and you essentially have a TBM 700, producing 700HP and protecting for over torquing during the take-off roll.  Rotate at 85kts, positive rate-gear up, 110kts-flaps UP (NOT 850) Yaw Damper ON.  Once established on your climbing cruise, take the flap lever and put it up into the 850 range.  All this does is remove the torque limiter for the engine, so you are free to push it on up to 121.4%  In the actual aircraft, you would have to be worried about over torquing since there is no longer the protection of a limiter, but I couldn't get the sim to let me over torque the airplane.  Here is a good AOPA article if anyone wants to dig a little deeper: http://www.aopa.org/pilot/features/2006/feat0606.html

 

It's also important to realize, that unlike the P46T, you're not gonna hit the airspeed red line of 266 Kts on this airplane at altitude, even when producing max power.  The TBM has almost an entire 100kts indicated before it hits the structural airspeed redline than the Propjet.  You shouldn't even need to pull the power back until you begin your decent.  Don't wrongly accuse this as "not going as fast as advertised".  Its all about TAS, not IAS.

 

Anyway, I'll take some more notes and share with everyone on my next go around.

 

Safe Skies,

 

-Seth-

[Bob650 31]

Seth,

 

Great info, Thanks for the review and ongoing testing. One quick question. When in 850 mode, the torque meter turns yellow above 100%. Is that accurate? How often are you operating between 100% and 121.4% real world? Seems odd that you'd be looking at a torque indicator reading yellow all the time but I don't know the first thing about the TBM850. Any info would be appreciated. Thanks for the link as well, good article and info..

 

-Bob

[ryanbatc 12,770]

Hey guys, thanks for the compliments on the review.  I've been doing a little real world flying today, so I still haven't gotten to play around the the TBM sim anymore.  I'm hoping to try out the cruise power settings a bit more this evening and take a look at the numbers a little closer.  I can say that last night, at a quick glance, they weren't nearly as off as some people are claiming.  I think I noticed a TAS of around 290 something, at FL280.  I can't recall what the temps were though.

 

It is important to realize, as some of you have pointed out already, that the TBM 850 does in deed have an "850" notch on the flaps.  During ground ops and take off profiles, the flaps should be in the UP or TO (takeoff) position.  This simply means (other than the flap position) that the torque limiter is engaged on the engine and you essentially have a TBM 700, producing 700HP and protecting for over torquing during the take-off roll.  Rotate at 85kts, positive rate-gear up, 110kts-flaps UP (NOT 850) Yaw Damper ON.  Once established on your climbing cruise, take the flap lever and put it up into the 850 range.  All this does is remove the torque limiter for the engine, so you are free to push it on up to 121.4%  In the actual aircraft, you would have to be worried about over torquing since there is no longer the protection of a limiter, but I couldn't get the sim to let me over torque the airplane.  Here is a good AOPA article if anyone wants to dig a little deeper: http://www.aopa.org/pilot/features/2006/feat0606.html

 

It's also important to realize, that unlike the P46T, you're not gonna hit the airspeed red line of 266 Kts on this airplane at altitude, even when producing max power.  The TBM has almost an entire 100kts indicated before it hits the structural airspeed redline than the Propjet.  You shouldn't even need to pull the power back until you begin your decent.  Don't wrongly accuse this as "not going as fast as advertised".  Its all about TAS, not IAS.

 

Anyway, I'll take some more notes and share with everyone on my next go around.

 

Safe Skies,

 

-Seth-

 

Thanks for the info...  I agree I do see similar speeds as you... but I think it should be a bit faster... 310-320 KTAS at FL280...

[skully 1,045]

We all hate manuals... that still doesn't explain the human brain damage that allows us to complain about something we know nothing about.. with authority!

 

 

My thoughts exactly.. This morning in the FSX forum people were declaring the aircraft as crap with their fingers on the refund button beacuse it was slow at cruise.

I posted that they weren't running the engine at full power if they running the flap switch past the detent to allow the engine to develop full rated power.

These kinds of posts slamming and insulting the hard work of these developers without even reading the seems to happen a lot around here latey and I feel it takes away from our group as a whole plus insults the thousands of hours of work these devs put into the products be it freeware or commercial.

Our hobby is what it is because of these devs. Show some manners and appreciation.

[ryanbatc 12,770]

Relax...  I already said I was wrong in the other main thread.  Not everyone is a real TBM pilot.  I was completely unaware of this special detent along with Chris.  I learned something.  'Nuff said.

 

However it is still slow...  not as slow as with 700hp.... but about 20-30 kts slow at altitude...

 

Also for Seth...  how are the brakes in the real thing?  I'm having trouble stopping this thing even after reverse cutoff at 60 kias...

[John_Cillis 2,406]

I decided to purchase the TBM 850 and try it out for myself.  Since I haven't flown one in the real world, and I haven't flown the Carenado version more than a few moments yet, I'll just share my observations regarding my chief concern--fps.  I found a negligible fps hit, about on par with the Meridian.  FPS does fall briefly if changing the view--I think related to loading of the textures.  Not more than an instant.

 

I'll try it out and see how things go from here.

 

John

 

Edit:  I guess I shouldn't mislead.  FPS were OK while I was on the ground, but as soon as I went wheels up they fell off in a big way--worst fps hit of any Carenado aircraft I've had.  Manipulating the G1000 just made things worse.  Probably a sign of my system's age, so members with similar specs should take heed.

[Hubinwa 27]

 

 

Probably a sign of my system's age, so members with similar specs should take heed.

 

They do recommend a 3 Ghz CPU.

[delta9857 1]

Anyone know if Carenado modelled the weather radar?

[SirStiggie 63]

Right, so selecting the 850 mode and tweaking the aircraft.cfg yielded 309KTAS at -34deg at FL260 which is a lot better than what I got in my brief flight yesterday. 

 

Carenado really need to work on their manuals. I found reference to the the 850 Flap Control only because I now know what to look for so Ryan, we are in the same boat.

 

One question to the real life pilots, is it just me or is it really sensitive to pitch settings? 

[Hirdy2013 104]

It's not in the item list over at carenado.

[KZ1R 5]

For those who are considering purchasing this plane:

 

I have decided to get it from Carenado and give it a try. Here you can see it in "its' full glory".

 

There you can notice some of the glitches people were writing about in this thread. I hope it will help you make an informed decision.

 

www.youtube.com/watch?v=Djzud0yAUuQ

 

Regards,

Mike

[Indy511 686]

go into the the MFD (AUX page, tab 5) it says that the airframe IS the Cessna 182T

Mine shows Socata TBM850

[John_Cillis 2,406]

They do recommend a 3 Ghz CPU.

 

I'll continue to try to enjoy it--in the flight levels, framerate losses don't matter as much.  Visual detail is pretty typical for Carenado--very good.  The sounds in the cockpit are a little soft--I would expect the 850 to be louder.  I wonder if the real 850 pilots can comment.  I'll try some long distance flights today...should be entertaining.

 

John

[Bert Pieke 7,584]

Mine shows Socata TBM850

 

They must be changing the most "urgent" things on the fly.. this one was a bit embarrassing :blush: