Isle of Man-based aviator and entrepreneur John C Taylor recently used his TBM 850 to view the solar eclipse at altitude, and believes that the aircraft is 'one of the most efficient means of transport that there is'. Taylor started a business for cordless kettle thermostats on the island 40 years ago, and has flown various aircraft types since then in order to visit clients across Europe. “For me the TBM has got the most amazing spec, because if you compare the stall speed of 60 kts and the cruise speed of 310 kts, it really is out on its own. I don't know any other aircraft that can get anything like five times the difference between stall speed and cruise speed.

“I had serial number 2 TBM – it had the same operating cost as the Partenavia I was flying because of the tax on the fuel and the cost of the fuel, and the efficiency of the aircraft. We were getting twice the speed and plenty of efficiency.

“Then I got delusions of grandeur and when I was 60 I bought myself a CitationJet, which is great fun. I was able to visit my son during his studies in Washington.”

Taylor's business ended up with 70 per cent of the world's trade for kettle control. “When we started, electric kettles were virtually unknown on the continent, and we managed to persuade the continentals that kettles were a good thing,” he says. “Germany and France started using them and the others followed suit – the growth was absolutely phenomenal. We went all round Europe by air for the business. The TBM is absolutely fantastic as a corporate tool: it is very efficient, very fast and has a comfortable pressurisation, whereas with a jet you have to go to 40,000 ft to get the efficiency out of it.

“If you are in the 30s, then you are in the way, because you are 100 kts slower than all the airliners, which all want to be in the 32 to 39 bracket. So you tend to get messed around by air traffic control, who won't let you climb because they are too busy above. The majority of turboprops go up to 25, while the TBM is most efficient between 26 and 28 from a speed point of view, which means you are not interfering.

“I can go up to a maximum of 31, and 30 and 31 are not generally used by anybody, because this is too low for a jet to be efficient and passenger turboprops aren't pressurised to get up there.”

In his opinion, the latest TBMs are at least 50 kts faster than the Pilatus. “The Pilatus is very much bigger and slower, so it is a different market. I think the TBM is the pinnacle of all fun flying. It is beautiful to fly and it is very balanced. You can go in and out on 800m tarmac runways without even having to do any calculations in the TBM. The handling does not bite; it is docile.”

When the eclipse occurred, Taylor knew that if he travelled to Cornwall to view it from ground level he would only have a 50 per cent chance of seeing it, whereas by flying the percentage rose to 90. “I got the centre co-ordinates from NASA and then flew south over Cork and out into the western approaches, turned left and flew towards Cornwall. We got a wonderful view of it because we were flying over the cloud, as we did ten years ago for the last eclipse. You are flying down the centre of totality, and you still have a very faint crescent of the sun, which is still bright.

“All of a sudden there are huge black clouds careering up behind you, and it is enough to make the hairs on the back of your neck rise, because the edges of them are quite hard where the last bit of the sun has gone.

“It is, however, very difficult to get a good photo from the aircraft, because even in autopilot there is movement – you need a very long focus lens to get any detail. So from a photographic point of view you can get better pictures from a mountain top on a firm base. But you can't see the shadow approaching you like you can from the air. It is something that is beyond your comprehension,” Taylor enthuses. “It is travelling at over 1,600 mph, so you can't keep up with it, even in Concorde.”