TB20 Pilot Journal
Transcript of TB20 Pilot Journal
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TRINI DADTRINI DADIt Was All In The BaIt Was All In The Ba
DOING
BUSINESS AL
OVER THE
SOUTHWEST
CAME
NATURALLY
FOR THE
TURBOCHARG
SOCATABy Bil l Cox l PhotBy James Lawrenc
For ThisFor This
W i n t e r 2
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There has never been muchquestion that Americanpiston-powered, general-aviation aircraft dominate
the world market, comprising wellover 80 percent of the inventory. In
fact, for nearly the last 20 years, therehas been only one foreign pistonaircraft design that has representedany significant competitive threat toAmerican productsSocata.
Jeff Herold manufactures and sellsan extremely popular upscale golf tra-vel bag known as the Club Glove. Aspresident and CEO of Orange County,Calif.-based West Coast Trends, he
The Socata Trinidad GT is
custom-made for the high
country of the western United
States, thanks in part to
turbocharging. Socata put a
set-it-and-forget-it blower on
the TIO-540, allowing the engineto develop all 250 horses all
the way up into the flight
levels. This airplane features
custom paint, new retractable
footsteps and a larger door to
improve access.
With the Trinidad, I can
be in the air on my own
schedule,usually within
30 minutes of leaving the
office, and I can cover
quite a bit more territory
than I could before. I can
fly directly to the most
convenient airport rather
than to an airline hub 30to 100 miles away.
visits a huge array of golf courses, proshops and retailers across the South-west. It became clear to Herold thatthe personalized marketing of hisone-of-a-kind bag could easily beenhanced by flying his own airplane
over his 580,000-square-mile territory.So he learned to fly in 1997,training in a 180-hp Skyhawk SP.Immediately after earning his license,Herold began to shop the used-planemarket, looking for exactly the rightaircraft for his specialized applica-tions. He considered a number of tur-bocharged airplanes for his businesstravel around the 11 western states,
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with emphasis on reasolow-wing models. Comprewas pretty much mandatorof Herolds customers ahigh country.
The then-new Commanwas a strong contender, butfew Turbo Commanders athe time. He also was imprespacious Piper Saratoga Tat least one respect, the airworked against it: Herold hed have enough applisix seats.
In 1998, Herold finallyan early (but still jauntyTCin fact, the very firsduction model. He stepped TB-21 Trinidad TC earlier
It was obvious that flyina big time-saver, says Herhad no idea how much. Soused to visit by car simpaccess was so inconvenienare now within easy reachplane. With the Trinidad, the air on my own schedwithin 30 minutes of leoffice, and I can cover quiteterritory than I could befordirectly to the most conv
port rather than to an airlto 100 miles away. I oftebeating the airlines overgreater than you might imayou consider door-to-door
Another advantage of th
The new Trinidads come with achoice of either a Honeywell
Bendix/King KMD 550 multi-function
display combined with a KLN 94
color GPS or a Garmin/Honeywell
hybrid that sports dual 430s.
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appreciates quality, and foson, he prefers to operattop FBOs on most airportSignatures, Millionaires anthat specialize in full servcall ahead (or sometimes, dont), theyll usually have parked at the curb, and youyour fuel order, any specsuch as oxygen or other sbe on your way in 15 minu
Herold chose a Socatpartially because it fit him.and that means I dont fitairplanes, he explains. Thhas a larger, more comforthan the majority of compaels. In fact, thats exactly tstepped up to a new ai2001. Socata redesigned tthis year for more head anand pilots like Herold hav
appreciation for the changFor Herold, turbocharg
necessity for operation intohigh country, where summaltitudes often can reach fThe Trinidad TCs TIO-5is a well-proven engine, the same powerplant useby Piper on the Turbo Azthe 70s. Turbocharging iswith the turbo compensatiperature and altitude throdensity controller and a dpressure controller.
Indeed, all the Socata dlong capitalized on ultimateAerospatiale recognized ea
transparent operation wendear their airplanes to mand a set-it-and-forget-it tuplus a luxurious, people-friewere almost guaranteed to and credit lines. To that econfigured the Trinidad/Trwith a near-automotive intin design and execution to sions and materials of a plu
hassle-free. I visit plenty of golfcourses, and the airplane will easilyswallow three people and three sets ofclubs without problems, though I dohave to leave some fuel in the truck.
Perhaps best of all, according toHerold, is the convenience of doing ityourself. I fall into the class of profes-sional traveler, says Herold, and the
is that it gives Herold the option ofcarrying an extra person or two plusbaggage for roughly the same cost.Like the normally aspirated Trinidad,the TC sports a max gross weight of3,086 pounds (1,400 kilograms forEuropean airways billing purposes),leaving a typical full fuel plus threesouls useful load. His trips are usually
Trinidad makes the whole process somuch easier than any of the alterna-tives. There are no airline reservationsto be made, no traffic jams, no parkingbackups, no check-in lines, no secu-rity scans, and we know for certain ourluggage will arrive at the same time wedo and at the same airport.
Like many busy executives, Herold
Not only is it one of the widest and most
comfortable of the singles flying, but the
Trinidad GT also is certified to carry up to
five passengers, not just four. Leave
the fifth seat empty, and you can add the
saved weight to the aircrafts already
formidable payload.
2001 EADS Socata Trinidad TB 21 TC
Base Price: $391,000
Engine Make/Model: Textron Lycoming TIO-540-AB1AD
Horsepower: 250
Max Cruise Speed (knots): 190/75% power/20,000 ft.
Max Range (w/reserve) (nm): 1000
Best Rate Of Climb (sea level) (fpm): 1126
Certified Ceiling (ft.): 25,000
Max Payload (lbs.): 1226
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sedan than a 190-knot light aircraft.Herold has improved upon the air-
planes standard talents with a fewmods of his own. Herold Airlines hasDVD screens velcroed to the frontseat backs so rear-seat passengers canwatch movies in flight, much like thecurrent tricks on Boeing 777s. Boseheadsets up front and Sennheisers inback provide stereo sound for playingCDs, and a custom leather interiorhelps everyone arrive relaxed andready for work or play.
Meanwhile, the captain fliesbehind a flight deck thats nearly asmodern as an airliners. A King KLN-94 moving-map GPS system presentsa large, easy-to-read, real-world trackof position with reference to all thestandard aviation checkpoints, plusroads, rivers and other major land-marks. The autopilot features pro-gramming functions that allow rate-of-climb and altitude preselect andswitching, and instrumentation is asobvious as is possible to make it.
Now an instrument-rated pilot with450 hours, Herolds association withhis Trinidad has allowed him to addyet another product to his line: high-
end, custom eyewear from Scheyden.In fact, his success has been so remark-able, hes surprised the aviation indus-try doesnt take advantage of aircraftmanagement for smaller GA aircraft.
That kind of service is readilyavailable on corporate jets, Heroldasserts, but there are many owners ofsmaller aircraft whod be willing topay a reasonable fee to have every-thing except the actual flying takencare of for them. Id be happy to pay amanagement company, such as Avex,Inc. in Camarillo, Calif., to overseeall aspects of my Trinidads operation,if I were fortunate enough to be basedthere. They basically keep the air-plane maintained, clean, fueled, serv-iced and ready to fly on a momentsnotice, but those companies are fewand far between.
For the nonce, Herold flies hisbusiness missions with the sure knowl-edge that his Trinidad offers the rightcombination of performance, efficiencyand operating economicsuntil theday he can afford a TBM-700. PJ
After shopping a number of other aircraft,
Herold declared the Trinidad a winner by
a lengththe length of leg room, head
room and the comfortable, wide Socata
cabin. Does he ever second-guess his
decision? Not really. Herold is now flying
his second Trinidad.