How do I reach the max cruise speed (380MPH) in this plane?

[sho69607]

Maybe I am used to flying jets where you have lots of thrust available to fight headwinds (fuel permitting), but it seems it is rather difficult to come close to the top cruising speed at FL300 unless you are sitting in a strong tailwind in the TBM. Is this normal for this type of aircraft to not be able to reach max cruising speed in a headwind?

[Goran_M]

Are you wanting IAS or Ground Speed?

[NeoPyro]

Most if not all aircraft manufactures base their top speed  off of TAS (true airspeed).

[sho69607]

330kts is what I am looking for, but I have yet to hit that speed unless I am in a strong tailwind.

[NeoPyro]

25 minutes ago, sho69607 said:

330kts is what I am looking for, but I have yet to hit that speed unless I am in a strong tailwind.

What speeds are you getting?

Edited April 28, 2019 by NeoPyro

[RobW05]

The TBM 900 specs say max cruise speed of 330 kts TAS is reached at FL280 in ISA conditions and obviously without wind component.

[Panxua]

Yesterday, I flew at FL310, with headwinds of about 13/14 kts. GPS showed groundspeed of 314 kts. We are not very far...

[mmerelles]

3 hours ago, Panxua said:

Yesterday, I flew at FL310, with headwinds of about 13/14 kts. GPS showed groundspeed of 314 kts. We are not very far...

 

Maximum cruise speed of 330 knots dictated by the manufacturer is TAS not GS (Ground speed).

 

Si, if you were getting 314 knots of GS under a 14 knots headwind component your TAS was actually 328 knots. Pretty much exactly what the manufacturer says. So i would think the TBM 900 performance simulatiom from this guys is SPOT ON.

 

Also note the manufacturer states 330 knots under ISA conditions at FL280. So if you are flying higher or lower, and ISA conditions also doesn't match (temperature) it will also impact performance

[Panxua]

This plane is a wonder. Some new flight today, with real weather, from Paris to Cannes (with a few days of advance for the Festival...) FL 310. ISA +0°C. Torque : 88, NG : 101.8, FF 56 Gph, IAS 195 Kias, tail wind 11 kts. GPS groundspeed : 335 kts.

Some fascinating thing to note is the play of trims' tuning with PA. On take off, rudder trim half way between the neutral position and the green mark, and elevator trim on the green mark. Once lift off completed, flight control at the recommended 114 kts speed. At full torque, rudder trim goes fully right. Once the navigation level reached, rudder trim comes back to neutral. In case of significant Xwind, rudder trim goes windward. I had not noticed that on previous versions.

I am a flight simulator fan since 1996, and it's the first time that I see such a perfection.

Waouh !

[dirkdej]

TAS, IAS, GS: this is basic PPL theory stuff, you may need to read up on it;

IAS is what the airspeed indicator shows, the higher you fly, the less air density, the less airspeed is shown.

TAS is IAS corrected for density and temperature. unless you fly at 0 feet, at standard temperature of 15°C, TAS will always differ from IAS.

GS is TAS +- headwind/tailwind component. You may be flying at 100kts; but against a headwind of 50kts, you only make good 50kts over the ground, this matters for navigation, fuel planning etc.