Two Polish TBM 930 owners have completed a circumnavigation of the globe during a four-week trip.

Tomek Dudziak and Arjan Bakker flew most of their around-the-world expedition on segments south of the Equator, and many of their 26 stopovers in 25 countries were at UNESCO World Heritage sites.

The co-owners received their TBM 930 from Daher last year, and covered 25,831 nautical miles on their globe-circling tour. Dudziak's goal was to reach the other side of the earth from his home city of Poznan, a point approximately 1,100 nm south east of New Zealand.

“I planned to fly there and continue back home, trying to draw a nice big circle,” he explains. “However, crossing oceans via northern routes would have created complications, so we 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.” The voyage required long legs, including several segments of more than 1,000 nm while crossing the Pacific. Stopovers included Samarkand in Uzbekistan, Kathmandu in Nepal, Komodo National Park in Indonesia, the Great Barrier Reef in Australia, Rapa Nui National 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 recognise Tomek and Arjan for their outstanding flight around the world, as well as their airmanship in completing this exciting journey,” comments senior VP of Daher Nicolas Chabbert. “In the hands of such adventurous pilots, the TBM 930 demonstrated its long 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.”