Photograph:
Socata TBM-700 VH-ICO (c/n 69) at Essendon, VIC in February 1997 (David C Eyre)
Country of origin:
France
Description:
Six/seven-seat pressurised business aircraft
Power Plant:
One 522 kw (700 shp) flat rated Pratt & Whitney Canada PT6A-64 turboprop
Specifications:
- Wingspan: 12.68 m (41 ft 7¼ in)
- Length: 10.64 m (34 ft 11 in)
- Height: 4.35 m (14 ft 3¼ in)
- Wing area: 18.00 m² 193.75 sq ft
- Max cruising speed at 7,925 m (26,000 ft): 555 km/h (345 mph)
- Economical cruising speed at 9,140 m (30,000 ft): 450 km/h (280 mph)
- Stalling speed flaps and gear down: 113 km/h (71 mph)
- Max rate of climb at sea level: 725 m/min (2,380 ft/min)
- Range with 45 mins reserve with max payload at max cruising speed: 1,666 km (1,035 miles)
- Range at economical cruising speed with max fuel: 2,870 km (1,783 miles)
- Empty weight: 1,860 kg (4,101 lb)
- Loaded weight: 2,984 kg (6,578 lb)
History:
TBM was established by the Aerospatiale General Aviation Division, Socata, and the US manufacturer Mooney, to produce a high-performance business aircraft. Performance promised by the manufacturer included taking six people at 556 km/h (345 mph – 300 knots) true airspeed at 7,925 m (26,000 ft) with a full fuel load for 1,000 nautical miles (1,852 km – 1,151 miles). To meet this requirement the Pratt & Whitney PT6A-64 engine was chosen, this having a power rating of 1,179 kw (1,580 shp) but de-rated to 522 kw (700 shp). Cabin volume was 6.51 m³ (230 cub ft) and pressurisation was maintained so that a cabin altitude of 2,691 m (8,830 ft) was available at 9,144 m (30,000 ft).
Three prototypes were built, the first (F-WTBM) flying for the first time on 14 July 1988, the second (F-WKPG) on 3 August 1989, and the third (F-WKDL) on 11 October 1989. Type approval was received on 28 August 1990 and the type was placed in production. One variant was the TBM-700C, a cargo version with a port side cargo door and separate cockpit door for the crew with a cargo capacity of 825 kg (1,819 lb). More than 100 examples were delivered to customers around the world, including 14 to the French Air Force for liaison duties with Groupe Aerien d’Entrainement et de Liaison. A total of 25 was supplied to meet French military orders; and two were delivered to the Indonesian Civil Aviation Academy at Curug.
In January 2006 a new model appeared known as the TBM-850 fitted with a 635 kw (850 shp) Pratt & Whitney Canada PT6A-66D turboshaft, this model having flown for the first time on 23 January 2006 and cruising at 7,925 m (26,000 ft) at 593 km/h (368 mph). In advertising the aircraft was described as ”Speed is exhilarating. Speed is freedom. Speed is the reason we learn to fly. Speed isn’t everything, of course. Here is an airplane that climbs to Flight Level 310 in just 21 minutes. Handles with ease. Slips in and out of 2,100 foot strips. And provides more payload-range capability than some light jets”. In France French airline Air Open Sky leased a series of TBM-700s for freight work, a similar deal being negotiated with Swedish cargo carrier Air West Sweden.
First of the type seen in this region (F-OHBH -c/n 52) was a factory demonstrator which visited in July 1992 and made a demonstration tour of Australia and New Zealand. Australia’s first TBM-700 (F-OHEV) set a record for turboprop aircraft weighing less than 3,000 kg (6,614 lb) when it flew from Perth, WA to Bankstown, NSW in 5 hrs 30 mins at an average speed of 594.58 km/h (369.4 mph).
Further examples have been registered in Australia, including: VH-ICA, a TBM-700C2 (c/n 205) registered to Austcom of Melbourne, VIC; VH-ICO (c/n 69 – ex F-OHBL) with Australian Aerospace at Milperra, NSW; VH-CZM (c/n 344 – ex F-OIKD, N794CA) with MDH Pty Ltd of Cloncurry, QLD; VH-LZJ (c/n 1016), a TBM-700N 900, registered to Jean Bely of Singapore; and VH-TBM (c/n 354), a TBM-700 registered to Air Corrigan Pty Ltd of Chipping Norton, NSW on 28 November 2017.