Early G1000-Equipped Planes May Be Retrofitted

Daher-Socata announced Monday the full certification of Garmin's Synthetic Vision Technology (SVT) for the all-glass cockpit of its TBM 850 single-engine turboprop aircraft.

The system provides enhanced situation awareness by presenting three-dimensional depictions of terrain, obstacles and traffic on the primary flight displays of the TBM 850's Garmin G1000 integrated flight deck. The SVT replicates what pilots would see outside the cockpit on a clear day, and its large format reduces workload while also fitting well into a normal cockpit scan.

This factory option has been certified by the US FAA and European EASA airworthiness authorities, and is available for all new Model Year 2009 TBM 850s. Previously-delivered 2008 TBM 850s can be equipped with the SVT option by Daher-Socata and through its distributor network, as defined in a system upgrade service bulletin for the Garmin G1000 cockpit.

"Synthetic Vision Technology is an incredible safety enhancement that improves situation awareness while reducing pilot workload," said Nicolas Chabbert, Senior Vice-President of Daher-Socata's Airplane Division. "We are pleased to offer SVT to our customers, making the TBM 850 the most advanced aircraft in its category."

The TBM 850 is billed as the world's fastest single engine turboprop, with a maximum cruise speed of 320 KTAS at 26,000 ft. (in ISA conditions). The aircraft is an 850-shp version of the six-seat TBM 700 turboprop business aircraft.

FMI: www.tbm850.com, www.garmin.com