Yeah I will be flying the C2.

As for the training so far so good. I was nervous about starting training with zero knowledge about the airplane. However, Walt from Turbine Solutions is a great guy and knows A LOT about the aircraft. He is also a very good instructor so no worries.

I'm pretty busy with the studying but I'll try and keep you guys posted on my progress and deliver on the photos.

 

I finished the training on the TBM700. Overall it was a lot of fun and it was also very challenging.

I must say that I am surprised that this aircraft is primarily owner operated. It is a handful of aircraft. I think that the Cj series (525) is way simpler and also has less gotchas than the TBM700. The first day we did VFR maneuvers and a few approaches. The VFR maneuvers consisted of steep turns, a stall series and a torque roll demo.

The torque roll demo was eye opening to say the least. It takes a lot to make me feel unsettled and the torque roll is downright scary. Once you are slow in this aircraft you can't add a heap of power or it will flip over onto its back. There are quite a few smoldering craters about 1/4 mile left of the centerline that used to be a TBM and an owner operator. Of course if you are ready for it the TBM has a big tail so a little right rudder stops the torque roll.

The performance of the TBM is great. We were trued out at 288 knots at FL250 and we were burning about 66 gallons of fuel. For some reason the French don't do # of fuel. That is a lot better than the king air and faster although you can take less than 1/2 of the stuff. For a couple or for short trips the TBM is a great airplane. I really enjoyed flying it. I was pretty busy with the rudder trim but it is like a little sports car (not that I would know).

I'm sorry to say I couldn't deliver on photos. My POS digital camera gave up the ghost a while back and I have not had the money to replace it (Pro pilot sob story). I tried to borrow my girlfriends but she works at a bar (makes more money than me) and our schedules never crossed paths with a camera. I will try and add some down the road when I fly my first trip.

 

Congrats BB. I'll forgive you for failing to produce the pictures!
I do hope that you will be able to get some in the future though - especially of the cockpit.
It sounds like you had a great time and learned a thing or two along the way too!
Thanks for sharing the details.

USMCFLYR

 

Did you do the torque roll in the plane, or sim? It's really a situation where you are practically stalled, and you have to do it just right. I've never had one go past 45degree's in recovery in the aircraft itself, because as you mentioned, the rudder is more than sufficient to control it. Then again, if you got yourself into that situation, your skills would probably suck anyways and that's that.

And as always, anyone with TBM questions I'd be more than glad to answer what I can.

 

We did the torque roll in the aircraft. We were not really that close to a stall. However the torque was very low and the prop started to turn slowly lower than 2000 rpm. Durning the demo the instructor let the aircraft get past 60 deg of bank. I think to scare me into not doing that, ever. I think it worked really well.

Basically you have to be pretty foolish to find yourself in that situation. So your right about probably not being able to recover. A lousy pilot would likely fight the roll with aileron and elevator. There are roll spoilers so it would likely stall a wing and make the situation worse.

 

Woo Hoo I finally got some photos for you guys. We took the airplane out east. It has the XM weather and it has been a great tool for going around the thunderstorms.

 

Thanks BB. Don't forget to include some EXTERIOR pics next time too
I'm sure that plane is a beautiful machine.

USMCFLYR

 

Sheesh! It's tough to keep you happy

 

I know you want to share that girl!
Don't be shy now

USMCFLYR

 

Very nice!