Page 12 - Volume 18 Number 6

aft on the right leg for fuel cutoff, moving forward to low and high idle, and then shifting to the left part of the “H” for taxi and flight operations. It makes sense, once used. Starting the TBM 900 has been made nearly automatic; boost pump is switched on, the start/abort switch is lifted for a couple of seconds and released, and the power lever is pushed up to low idle after Ng rises to a stable 12-15%. We only reached 620 C. as the engine accelerated, far under the start limit. The generator comes on line automatically as Ng goes above 50%, and we engaged the inertial separator switch for ground operation.
Crockett had filed us to Springfield, MO at FL280, and we were cleared as filed, with initial altitude restrictions that were lifted as we climbed. Taxiing control is light and responsive. By setting the powerful engine on the edge of Beta to hold speed down, we seldom needed to ask for reverse.
Run-up duties are minimal; set takeoff flaps, check controls, trims, anti-ice and lights, and verify the avionics. There is no longer an overspeed governor test, but a daily feathering check is made, conducted by moving the throttle to the right side of its shift pattern. Pressurization scheduling is set automatically, as long as the landing field elevation is selected in the G1000. With those few chores done, we lined up on MKC’s venerable runway 19, where Charles Lindbergh, Howard Hughes and TWA’s jetliners once landed. Power is pushed to
10 • TWIN & TURBINE
40% torque before brake release, then increased to about 95% to allow for buildup on the roll. With TOGA activated, pitch-up to the F/D command bars was made as we neared 85 knots.
Gear up and showing 100% torque, we retracted the takeoff flaps and targeted 124 knots for a hurry-up Vy climb, initially showing 2,000 fpm but increasing to 2,200 fpm as we cleared the low-level turbulence. The TBM 900 stabilized as if it were on autopilot and, with only the yaw damper’s aid, we hand-flew in the climb to sample handling, which was solid and just heavy enough for the TBM’s mission. The relatively-small ailerons are supplemented by spoilers, and a light aileron/rudder interconnect is used. Out of FL200, we were still showing a 1,750-fpm climb rate, and on our ISA-zero day we reached the engine’s temp limit at about 22,500 feet, much higher than in the earlier airplanes, according to Crockett.
We leveled at FL280 in a tad over 12 minutes, starting from a 700-foot elevation. Acceleration into max cruise, Crockett says, only takes 10 minutes or so, because the engine develops more usable power at altitude. A small white box in the edge of the MFD’s analog torque readout is used to quickly set maximum cruise (the top of the box) or normal cruise (the lower edge of the box). Starting out at 93% torque, 2010 prop rpm, and a 62-gph fuel flow, the power edged up to 98% and fuel flow eventually showed 64 gph as we stabilized at 205 knots IAS, for a TAS of 326 knots, just above the book
JUNE 2014