Socata TBM
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The Socata TBM-700 and TBM-850 are high performance single engine turboprop light business and utility aircraft manufactured by Socata.
History
The first prototype of the TBM-700 flew in 1988 and French certification followed in 1990. The TBM-700 was designed together with Mooney, but Mooney withdrew from the project shortly after certification. The designation TBM still reminds of Mooney however, the letters TB standing for Tarbes, the city in France which Socata is located and the M standing for Mooney. The TBM-700 also comes in a cargo variant, the TBM-700C, which has an extra cargo door. The TBM-700 uses a Pratt & Whitney PT6A-64 engine delivering 700shp. So far, over 125 TBM-700's have been produced.The TBM-850 is a recent more powerful version of the TBM-700 using a Pratt & Whitney PT6A-66D engine flatrated at 850hp. This extra power gives it a higher cruising speed than the TBM-700 models. The cruise speed now comes close to that of light business jets which are more expensive to operate than a single engined turboprop, hence the slogan Jet Performance at Turboprop Economy. The price of a "typically equipped" TBM-850 in 2006 is listed as 2.8 million US dollars. The outside appearance of the TBM-850 has remained the same as that of the TBM-700.
Future
The TBM-850 will probably not be the last model as Socata has said to be planning on a new model for the TBM family which is to have a fully integrated glass cockpit with autopilot.Specifications
Specifications given are for the less powerful TBM-700 model.General characteristics
- Crew: 1 or 2 pilots
- Passengers: 4 to 6 (including one passenger in the cockpit if there is no co-pilot)
- Powerplant: 1 x Pratt & Whitney PT6A-64 with 700hp
- Wing span: 12,68m (41,6ft)
- Length: 10,65m (35ft)
- Height: 4,36m (14,3ft)
- Empty weight: 1890kg
- Loaded maximum: 3000kg (2985kg max take-off)
Performance
- Cruise speed: 243kts
- Maximum speed: 300kts
- Ceiling: 30.000ft (maximum certified altitude)
- Climb rate: 2380ft/min
- Range: 2870km (1550nm)
Related concent
Comparable aircraft
- Extra 500
- Pilatus PC-12
- Piper Malibu
External links
- [Airlines.net Socata TBM-700 data]
- [TBM-700 pilot handbook] (in .pdf format)
- [EADS Socata official website]
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