SOCATA TBM

The SOCATA TBM 700 and TBM 850 are high performance single engine turboprop light business and utility aircraft manufactured by SOCATA. The TBM 700 was offered until 2006, when the TBM 850 was introduced.

Design and development
In the early 1980s, the Mooney Airplane Company of Kerrville, Texas designed a six-seat pressurised light aircraft powered by a single 360 hp (268 kW) piston engine, the Mooney 301, which made its maiden flight on 7 April 1983. Mooney was purchased by French owners in 1985, which resulted in talks between Mooney and the French company Socata to build a turboprop derivative of the 301. The result of these discussions was the TBM 700, which was much heavier than the 301 with more than twice the power, with a joint venture, TBM International, being set up in June 1987 between Mooney and Socata's parent company Aérospatiale to design and build the new aircraft. In the designation TBM, "TB" stands for Tarbes, the city in France in which Socata is located, the "M" stands for Mooney. The TBM 700 is a single turboprop engined, six to seven seat low-wing monoplane of mainly aluminium and steel construction, but with the tail surfaces built of Nomex honeycomb. It has a retractable tricycle landing gear and is powered by a Pratt & Whitney Canada PT6A-64 engine delivering 700 shp (522 kW). The first prototype TBM 700 made its maiden flight on 14 July 1988, with French certification following on 31 January 1990 and US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) certification achieved on 28 August 1990.

It was planned that two production lines be set up, one at Kerrville to cater for the American market and the other at Socata's factory at Tarbes to build aircraft for the rest of the world. A shortage of money resulted in Mooney withdrawing from the project in May 1991. The TBM 700 also comes in a cargo variant.



The TBM 850 is the production name for the TBM 700N, an improved version with the more powerful Pratt & Whitney PT6A-66D engine flat rated at 850 shp (634 kW). The TBM 850 is limited to 700 shp (522 kW) for takeoff and landing, but in cruise flight the engine power can be increased to 850 shp (634 kW). This extra power gives it a higher cruising speed than the TBM 700 models, especially at high altitudes (due to the flat-rating). The outside appearance of the TBM 850 has remained the same as that of the TBM 700. The TBM 850 has a typical range of 1520 nmi.

As of the summer of 2009, over 520 TBMs have been produced. The manufacturer expects to produce 450 units in the 2007–16 time period.

Beginning with the 2008 model, the TBM 850 is equipped with the Garmin G1000 integrated flight deck as standard equipment.

Variants

 * TBM 700A
 * Initial production version with one Pratt & Whitney Canada PT6A-64 turboprop engine.


 * TBM 700B
 * Variant with wide entrance door, increased maximum zero fuel weight and other improvements.


 * TBM 700C1
 * Improved version with rear unpressurised cargo compartment, reinforced structure, new air conditioning system and other improvements.


 * TBM 700C2
 * C1 with increased maximum take off weight.


 * TBM 700N
 * Variant with increased maximum cruise/climb power, one Pratt & Whitney Canada PT6A-66D turboprop engine, produced as the TBM850


 * TBM 850
 * Production name for the TBM 700N.


 * TBM 850 Elite
 * An updated version of the TBM 850, priced at $3.2 million.

Operators
This list does not include most operators.
 * French Air Force – 15 in service December 2011.
 * French Army (ALAT) – 11 in service December 2011.
 * French Army (ALAT) – 11 in service December 2011.