I currently have the Malibu and am pretty much satisfied with it.  My question is, what will I gain by getting the TBM?  Simwise is there a big difference between them.  I've been reading the mixed reviews and am trying to make up my mind if I should reach for my credit card.

 

Thanks for convincing me yea or ney.

 

Jim

The real review for the TBM will come once at least one patch comes out.  Have to see what they fix and where they leave it.

I am asking myself the same question right now. After the first excitement all my Carenados end up collecting dust in the hangar after a few flights for some reason I cannot even explain a 100%.

I was waiting for "something like a PC 12 with glass" for a very long time so I bought the Malibu because it was the closest thing after severall years of waiting. The TBM appears to be even more close but I fear that it will end up in the hangar like almost all other Carenados in my collection.. And yet there is that voice..."this time it is different..this is what you want"..... That voice is always there when Carenado pumps out a new plane. But I learned to resist. I passed on the KingAirs and the SR22. HA!

FPS seem to be comparable to the Malibu. Not too bad for all the glass. It is faster and gives the G1000 feeling...but not that much G1000 functionality....
So it is speed and the looks.....
$ 40 bucks is not cheap for what you get in my personal opinion. If I can resist for the the next days I will probably wait untill I get it on sale one day...

What bothered me with the Malibu is the very limited view out of the cockpit.
Both planes look very much alike and yet I have the impression from Screenshots and first videos that the view in the TBM is a bit better. This is hard to judge from screenshots /videos without having the freedom to play around with the camera yourself. Can anyone compare the view and has opinion for that?


 

As noted elsewhere, I quite like the Malibu but almost in spite of some of its shortcomings.  The G500 implementation works well for me, but much of that is because of the RXP integration which let's my RXP 530 and 430 carry the depth while the 500 displays do the show.  With the G1000 planes this is missing (unless you kinda work around it by configuring and using an RXP as a popup).

 

The TBM is a much faster plane, with a lot higher fuel burn I might add.  Sorry, I know I'm not REALLY paying for the fuel, but still... :-)  The TBM also doesn't suffer from the JetProp's speed restrictions.  Down low, the JetProp really isn't a particularly quick plane, while the TBM can still be relatively fast.

 

Scott

In terms of the real airplanes, the TBM 850 carries more and is faster, heavier and a *lot* more expensive to buy and operate   B) Together with the PC-12,  It's pretty much the ultimate single-engine private turboprop aircraft  The JetPROP DL that Carenado has given us is the "budget option", coming in at the low price of just under $1 million for a piston Malibu and the cost of conversion.

 

In terms of the FS simulation we'll have to wait and see (which is what I'm doing.. like Scott, I've learnt my lesson with Carenado :mellow: ). The avionics and systems in the TBM-850 appear to be more fully featured, but there appears to be some questions about the flight dynamics and a few glitches that will have to be addressed. The JetProp flies great and even includes invisible "spoilers" so you can use the prop as an air brake like in the real aircraft. Bernt did a great job on the flight dynamics for this one.

 

The view in the cockpit looks fine to me. Have you tried using CTRL/Shift and Enter/Backspace to adjust your viewpoint? Maybe you need to put a virtual cushion on the seat...  ^_^

Yes I use that cushion quite regularly in most planes...especially on approach.

 

It's just that the instrument panel is very high and the windows are very small in the Malibu (in the TBM, too). This feels a bit like sitting in an armored vehicle and looking through a crenel.

 

And I almost forgot about the speed limitations of the Malibu in low altitude. As long as you don't want to fly high all the time most piston twins will outperform the Malibu. Another point for the TBM.

 

 

which is what I'm doing.. like Scott, I've learnt my lesson with Carenado

 

Add another to the list.  They're good at low systems planes.  Graphics are amazing and, when the put a good FDE on it it's primo.  They need a systems guy for these complex things and they need to finish them.

What bothered me with the Malibu is the very limited view out of the cockpit.

Both planes look very much alike and yet I have the impression from Screenshots and first videos that the view in the TBM is a bit better. This is hard to judge from screenshots /videos without having the freedom to play around with the camera yourself. Can anyone compare the view and has opinion for that?

With either one of these planes I wouldnt be too bothered about the view out the window as neither one is really the kind of plane you'd want to take on a "dead reckoning" type of flight, as they are truly meant for IFR and not looking out the window.

 

The nose of these planes are so far out in front of where you sit that you'd really have a hard time spotting landmarks below you until you got your speed up to around 180+kts...and that's pretty fast to have to use dead reckoning. They are meant to be flown high and fast, not low/slow.

 

If excellent forward visibility is what you're looking for try something that was meant to be flown low and slow...a regularly aspirated piston, non pressurized with a cruise speed of 125-150kias would probably be your best bet. The Sr22 might be good for that as well, but I dunno for sure.

The comment about the virtual seat cushion isn't a bad one.  A fair number of RW pilots use them. What I've done in the past is to look at the fake pilots they have in the aircraft and try to estimate how high his head is.  Then I try to put myself in that spot with EZDoc.  You can use keystrokes as well or modify the config eyepoint.

If excellent forward visibility is what you're looking for try something that was meant to be flown low and slow...a regularly aspirated piston, non pressurized with a cruise speed of 125-150kias would probably be your best bet. The Sr22 might be good for that as well, but I dunno for sure.

 

Nothing beats their C337 for that, in my humble opinion. The systems and avionics are simple and it's a true VFR/low and slow plane, which is what Carenado do best.

Gregg...us short guys need all the help we can get  ...thank goodness for EZDoc!

I up'd an EZDok cam set with all the efxs set from my RW experience. just search for TBM850 and it should show.

 

 

 

The Malibu is an old plane, and the TBM is a new one.. apples and oranges big time.

 

The TBM will allow you to carry six adults with full fuel and baggage. The Malibu and the new Meridian wont even come close... A typical "family flying day" in the Pipers will limit you to 40 to 50% fuel, or about three hours flight time... BUT... if your are just hauling your wife, two kids and a dog for a days ride, then the Meridian is the better choice. The Meridian is a great plane that still can move it at 300 mph (265 kts), at way better fuel cost then the TBM. If you live in the states/canada the Piper network is vast,

and parts and service will be way less and readily available. The word on the street is that the Meridian is an easier flyer, and will forgive pilots for minor skill lapses.

 

Another way to look at it... The Meridian is a muscle car, and the TBM is an exotic sports car.

 

 

The Malibu is an old plane, and the TBM is a new one.. apples and oranges big time.

 

The Meridian (the first production turbine Malibu) wasn't produced until 2000, the JetProp (the Malibu turboprop conversion that Carenado modeled) two years earlier in '98, while the first TBM flew in 1990.  The piston roots for both planes are even older.  The two planes are very much contemporaries. 

 

But yes, I agree with your main point - while they're both single engine turbo-props, they're really at opposite ends of that limited spectrum in almost every way.

 

Scott

So I bought the TBM and did some testing. I was too curious in the end. Some quick thoughts on both planes:

As I wrote in another thread after a closer look and some testing the TBM performs worse than the Malibu and even the 182T from Carenado when it comes to FPS. There are many little bugs, MFD and PFD are hard to read, speed is way to slow. The TBM gives me a huge hit on the FPS when I use the map on the MFD. The carenado 182 T also gives me that strange performance loss. None of my other G1000 planes gives me such a hit (for using the map....). Also as comparison I can turn on all screens in the Malibu (g500 PFD, MFD with map, both gps, weather radar) and I loose between 2 and 3 frames only, so she gives me overall a pretty good performance on my PC. Clear point for the Malibu.

Considering all bugs, performance and stuff I should probably suggest the Malibu if someone would ask me. BUT: If I would choose with the heart I would go for the TBM. After some tweaking of the .cfg to get the correct speeds and not using the map for better performance and ignoring all the little bugs it is a cool plane. A fast modern single turboprop with a fancy G1000 (limited functions and all..but hey, it looks good :lol: ). A nice plane that I would love to have in a less rushed, flawed and incomplete version as Carenado offers right now.

Seeing them right beside each other I find the TBM more appealing and I was surprised how much bigger she is. A bit closer to the PC 12 which is one of my favourite planes.

And btw the view out of the cockpit is indeed a bit better (for us sunset lovers). :rolleyes:

Guess I have to hope for some service packs.

The two planes are very much contemporaries.

 

True.. and i know the history of both.. What I was saying is that the Carenado Malibu is an older plane then the Carenado TBM, which I assume is a 2012/2013 model. Piper

is a great bunch of fokes, and the current Meridian is meant as a transition craft... but I do wish they could come up with an "SS" model that was close to the TBM numbers.

And btw the view out of the cockpit is indeed a bit better

 

I've been in a Meridian, and it's a little better then the Carenado one. The RW one is not as closed in as they perceive it. The panel is so simple... there are actually less buttons then some cars have these days. A Nice feature of the TBM is the side wedge shaped glass. It lets you see down a little better. Both planes are "thick", and give you a good sense of quality and safety.

 

Thats a great Pic! The modern Meridian has a shorter nose then the converted Malibu, so it would look even shorter if we had one for the sim. The Meridian also has wing wedges at the root. Both still share a thin wing profile, I'm not an aeronautical engineer, but that may be why the Pipers have such a low MTOW,