Now time to tell you a little more about D-FLEX which came to rescue us today. D-FLEX belongs to Phil Caiger whom I first met about this time in 2012 on a PPL/IR trip he organised to Turkey. Since then we have done a number of adventurous trips together as described in earlier parts of this blog in the PA46 Malibu Mirage that he owned until recently and my Bonanza.
In late 2014, Julian Fitter, one of RGV’s people, knowing my predilection for seeing new aviation places, asked me if I would like to come down and see the Daher Socata TBM factory in Tarbes where he was about go for a training course as RGV were becoming a TBM service centre. I jumped at the prospect and immediately thought Phil would be keen so we went down together in his Malibu Mirage expecting an interesting factory tour. On arrival, we were told that our test flight was arranged for a couple of hours later when we were taken up in a new TBM900 by Daher’s chief test pilot. What a revelation that flight was, quite apart from a fascinating visit to the factory!
I thought no more about it but Phil certainly did. At Friedrichshafen last year, he told me that he had decided to buy a TBM and asked me if I would like to train for the rating to fly it with him. It took him a while to find what he wanted but earlier this year, he acquired D-FLEX, a TBM700 C2 model of 2005 vintage; this has the range and payload of the later 850 and 900 models but with a traditional analogue instrumented cockpit. Phil updated some of the avionics and the aircraft also has RVSM airspace capability. We got our TBM SET ratings on 2nd May at Carlisle where our examiner had done his initial flying training and coincidentally on the same day that 46 years ago, I had done my first solo in a C150.
Since then, we have done a few trips together and more are in the planning stage. We have helped each other out on positioning flights in the past so I thought Phil would be amenable to a rather longer rescue flight and so he was. I am lucky to have such a loyal friend. His TBM is a marvellous aircraft to fly; at low speeds it handles much as my Bonzana while at 280 kt at FL290 cruising (usually) well on top of the weather, it is superb.
Before Phil’s arrival, we went to see the Astra Museum. Situated about 4 km to the south of Sibiu, this consisted of several acres of grassy woodland where middle ages and later houses and workshops have been created around a large lake. It was interesting to walk round this but rather obviously out of main visitor season as many were shut up and the surrounding souvenir stalls closed. From pictures we saw, it would be a good place to bring family in the summer. Meanwhile the weather has become cooler and unsettled with showers but still comfortably warm to sit out for dinner in the evening.
Phil and Geoff Broucke, RGV engineer, arrived at around 6:30 pm having stopped off at Luxembourg to refuel. Geoff immediately started work and the mag was fitted and partly timed before darkness stopped work after an hour. Geoff hopes to finish early tomorrow; meanwhile off to the hotel to collect Miranda and out to the centre of Sibiu for a walk round and dinner.
All being well, we hope to get away around 10 am local tomorrow.