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 EADS Socata.
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[edit] History
The TBM 700 first 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. In the designation TBM, TB stands for Tarbes, the city in France in which Socata is located, the MN stands for Mooney. The TBM 700 also comes in a cargo variant. The TBM 700 uses a Pratt & Whitney PT6A-64 engine delivering 700shp. Over 330 TBMs have been produced.
The TBM 850 is a 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.
[edit] Specifications
Specifications given are for the TBM 850 model.
[edit] 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-66D with 850hp
- Wing span: 12,68m (41,6ft)
- Length: 10,65m (35ft)
- Height: 4,36m (14,3ft)
- Empty weight: 2,132kg
- Loaded maximum: 3,370kg (3,354kg max take-off)
[edit] Performance
- Long Range Cruise speed: 252kts
- Maximum Cruise speed: 320kts
- Ceiling: 31.000ft (maximum certified altitude)
- Climb rate: 2380ft/min
- Time to Climb to 26,000ft: 15 min
- Range: 2870km (1550nm)
