Whatever one may think of the clichés about the Swiss and their relationship to speed, this Swiss debunks them all: Paolo Buzzi has now taken delivery of the first Ursprung TBM 960 delivered to Switzerland. With a cruising speed of 330 knots, the French single turboprop is pretty much the fastest you can get in this class of aircraft. And it is not the first aircraft that Buzzi owns of this series: the co-founder of the Swissauote online bank had already spent 1200 hours in the previous model TBM 930.
Flight around the world in the fast turboprop
His biggest journey so far: a trip around the world, which he undertook together with his wife Anna. In 108 flight hours he covered a distance of 25,824 nautical miles in turboprop. “The world seems smaller afterwards,” was his conclusion after the trip. The banker also intends to fly long distances again with his new aircraft – New Zealand should be the next destination.
The “new” from Buzzi allows a range of 1,730 nautical miles and a payload of 655 kilograms. The electronic propeller and motor control of the 850hp Pratt & Whitney Canada PT6E-66XT includes an auto-throttle function and, when combined with Garmin’s G3000 avionics system, offers full hull protection.
Autoland was decisive in the purchase
For Buzzi, on the other hand, the five-year warranty that the manufacturer Folge grants on the aircraft and the standard autoland function were decisive for upgrading to the latest TBM model. With it, the aircraft lands autonomously in an emergency at the nearest suitable airport. Buzzi’s wife Anna was particularly enthusiastic about this film.
Incidentally, the plane that has now been delivered makes Switzerland the country with probably the highest density of TBMs in the world: twelve machines are currently stationed there, with a population of just 8.7 million!
