So earlier today contributed to the “Top Ten Aircraft” thread and noted that I had my eyes on the TBM 850. I was a bit conflicted as I have a number of new planes that I enjoy, and I liked the stock TBM 930 with its robust Garmin glass.
But like the Comanche, I had to see what all the fuss was about.
Wow.
Busy day at work and after a trip to Ikea for a small stand for one of my monitors, and best buy for a cord, got home and said, “Why not?” and picked it up. Easy install, and a robust manual. Great.
Got my cramped work/sim space in order. Got some grief (well deserved btw) for the wire mess I had so kinda cleaned that up (still bad, but hey, I used some zip ties on some cords) and prepped my area for flight!
In prep found a nice streamdeck profile for the TBM, and got that locked and loaded.
Also learned in the Top 10 thread that I could get an upgraded G750 Garmin add on. Awesome, didn’t know that! (Also hope to use something for the Comanche). Downloaded that.
So far…so good.
Loaded the TBM 850 up and confidently said, “I’ll wing it and use the in-game checklist and just pick and choose the stuff that is probably essential.” Ooooops. Wrong idea. The TBM by Black Square has Fenix/PMDG level of fidelity. Just couldn’t get the thing started and ready to go myself. This was a beast that needed to be tamed, and that required attention to detail, going through the manual, and watching YouTube videos…
Chose A330 Driver as my instructor (love his YouTube videos). He has about a 90 minute video on flying the 850, so watched it with manual in hand and the plane parked in Japan for a 2.5 hour flight (about to pass Toyko as I type this).
Just amazed at how you really have to follow procedure to get the plane humming. Kinda reminds me of the SWS Kodiak in that you got to be precise on timing and such w/r/t to the conditioner, propeller and throttle. Lot of systems to check and ensure they are activated in specific orders. I LOVE airliners and this reminded me of them. Just what I like.
The TDS GTN750xi client is just awesome. Had some hiccups with the install but figured it out in 10 minutes. Love having the glass on a separate monitor, though did some workaround to get it going and that leaves a blank screen “in plane” with the glass on monitor. Doesn’t bother me much but I’ll see if I can get the glass to be mirrored in the cockpit. Still works, just use it on 2nd monitor.
Performance wise just makes you smile as you make a steep climb to cruise altitude (in this case, 28,000 feet). Sound is vanilla. But overall handles well and great immersion.
Saw internal temps in the cabin getting low and what a joy to trouble shoot that. Such attention to detail by Black Square. Also had to learn how to manage cabin pressure - another new issue for me. Read the manual in flight and didn’t kill us.
Should be landing in about an hour so will be interesting, but just wanted to let the community know what they already know. This is an amazing plane and if you like fidelity, good looks, and performance, this is a must buy IMHO.
