tb20 pilot journal

8/8/2019 TB20 Pilot Journal

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68 P i l o t J o u r n a l

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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TRINIDAD


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.

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