Daher has acknowledged the
achievement of two Polish TBM 930 owners who circled the globe in their very
fast turboprop aircraft during a four-week trip.
Tomek Dudziak
and Arjan Bakker
flew most of their around-the-world expedition on flight segments south of the
Equator, and many of their 26 stopovers in 25 countries were at UNESCO World
Heritage Sites.
These co-owners received their
TBM 930 (Serial Number 1128) from Daher last year, and the globe-circling tour -
performed from November 6th to December 3r - covered a total distance of 25,831
nautical miles.
Dudziak said the goal was “to
reach the other side of the Earth” from his home city of Poznan, aiming for a
point approximately 1,100 nm. southeast of New Zealand. “I planned to fly there
and continue back home, trying to draw a nice big circle,” he explained.
However, crossing oceans via northern routes would have created complications,
so he decided to go island-hopping in the Pacific Ocean, and cross the Atlantic
Ocean from Brazil to Cape Verde.
“We thank Daher for making such a
reliable, versatile aircraft and for supporting us during the trip,” Dudziaksaid,
adding that the voyage required long legs - including several segments of more
than 1,000 nm. while crossing the Pacific Ocean.
Stopovers included Samarkand in
Uzbekistan, Kathmandu (Nepal), Komodo National Park (Indonesia), the Great
Barrier Reef in Australia, Rapa Nui park on Easter Island, and Brazil’s Iguazu
National Park.
The longest flight duration was
six hours (from the Totegegie Atoll in French Polynesia to Easter Island), while
the longest distance was a 1,629-nm. flight from Easter Island to Chile’s
Robinson Crusoe Island.
Such extended flights required
significant advance preparation, particularly since fuel is not permanently
available at certain stopovers - and had to be brought in by boat. Average
ground speed for the global circumnavigation was 271 kts.
“We recognize Tomek and
Arjan for their outstanding flight around the world, as well as their airmanship
in completing this exciting journey,” commented
Nicolas Chabbert,
Senior Vice President of the Daher Airplane Business Unit. “In the hands of two
such adventurouspilots,the TBM 930 demonstrated itslong-range performance,
reliability and safety - which we hope will serve as an inspiration to others in
discovering the world with our very fast turboprop aircraft.”
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