Inertial Separator on TBM

On a related note, and while this is a bit of a dry video; it actually explains the interia seperator in the TBM very well in function and use:

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When the in-sep is active, it diverts airflow from the main air intake away from the internal turbine intake to prevent foreign objects from entering the turbine. This air diversion means less air gets into the turbine, which means less power, which translates to less available torque and more heat generation (keep an eye on the ITT). This isnā€™t so much a performance problem as the way itā€™s intended to work.

You engage the in-sep before taxi and then turn it off at a couple of thousand feet agl after takeoff (once youā€™re above the altitude where you could suck in a bird), and then enable it again on descent to approach - the situations when youā€™re most likely to have an ingress of foreign material in your engine - and disable it again as part of the shutdown procedure. In flight, youā€™d only use it when coming into serious icing conditions and at speeds under 200 kias. Otherwise, youā€™re not likely to really need it on most flights, even if you may need to hit the airframe or windshield anti-ice for minor icing.

If used according to the POH and your key binds are correct, you should be good to go.

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I disagree. Neither the TBM nor other turboprops have been designed to takeoff and/or climb with the inertial separator/intake deflectors on/extended.

There are no performance tables for these cases!
If de/anti-ice equipment has been designed for normal ops it triggers a green or blue advisory message, but never an amber caution message.

Btw, bird strikes can occur above FL330.

I donā€™t remember the exact procedures on the Kingair as it has been 10 years since Iā€™ve flown that thing. But isnā€™t it standard to have inertial separators on for take-off, initial climb, approach and landing?

Indeed. If you follow the TBM checkists, it has you enable the in-sep before taxi, and again during climb. Then enable again on descent, and off at shutdown.

According POH or MSFS checklists? The latter is a pile of rubbish :joy:

On the King Air engine anti-ice messages are green advisories, not amber cautions. Different design.

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MSFS checklists can be ratherā€¦ questionable. lol

Iā€™m definitely not an expert, but watching TBM pilots on YouTube following their lists, or guys like Stevo Kinevo who do their stuff from memory, thatā€™s how they do it. Enable in-sep before taxi to not suck in dirt. Disable at a few thousand feet agl, and re-enable again on descent.

That said, thatā€™s how I understand it from material Iā€™ve seen. Iā€™m not a pilot, so I have no qualifications to state things definitively.

The TBM930 POH is available online, I have it on my computer somewhere. If its in there I guess its ok. But they are French, Iā€™ve flown Socataā€™s before, a lot of things are questionable in their manuals :sweat_smile::joy:ā€¦

And donā€™t look at other people, a lot of pilots are self proclaimed experts thinking they know it better than the manufacturerā€¦ Own theories and procedures can spread like wildfire :expressionless:.

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It causes lower performance, which I consider a problem if I donā€™t need what it gives me (ice protection).

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Just visit the aviation safety net webpage and check how many GA aircraft are usually crashing each day.
Some pilots love to re-invent the wheel and think they know more then the company who built the aircraft.

If you want to achieve the POH performance, you canā€™t use the inertial separator on the TBM.

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Inertial separators are not only for ice protection, they prevent FOD ingestion and are therefore used on the ground on certain aircraft types.

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The PDF of the TBM 930 POH I have handy is labeled as Edition 0 - December 31, 2015 Rev. 3, and it says to turn INERT SEP to ON before taxi in the taxi procedures on page 4.3.7, and check it again before line-up on page 4.3.8, then turn it off after takeoff if required on page 4.3.11.

I do stand corrected!
Thatā€™s interesting because the Edition 0 - December 31, 2015 Rev. 0 says for
takeoff, climb and cruise _ as required.

That said, if you use it, watch the ITT and consider that you will experience a signficant loss of performance.

Since the engine is running hotter and less efficient, I donā€™t think that using the inertial separator all the time contributes to increase the life time of the engine.

Btw, thatā€™s a French idea, normal ops with an active caution messageā€¦

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I hadnā€™t even got as far as cruise. If itā€™s required for cruise due to conditions I assume you should keep it on, as mentioned in the post-take off procedure. :wink:

Exactly :joy:.

The TBM is flat-rated to an crazy high OAT so I donā€™t think youā€™ll hit ITT limit as quickly in real life. Torque will drop of course.

Nevertheless the manuals states:
INERTIAL SEPARATOR POSITION AFFECTS ENGINE PARAMETERS
(PARTICULARLY TRQ AND ITT). CARE MUST BE EXERCISED WHEN
OPERATING THE INERTIAL SEPARATOR OR WHEN INCREASING POWER
WITH THE INERTIAL SEPARATOR ON, TO AVOID EXCEEDING ENGINE
LIMITATIONS.

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FYI

image

NVM- seems I linked up the old edition as well. It would appear in-sep procedures for the TBM have been altered in the newer revisions and more in line with how Iā€™ve been using it. lol

Very true. TBM pilots have to know their stuff, thatā€™s for sure.

However, with the 940, use of auto-throttle is recommended on normal procedures, and it now takes care of all that for the pilot. Itā€™s pretty impressive to watch.