The Thursday evening
public rollout of the new TBM 850 was expected to be a nice
event... tucked away on the well-appointed and GA-friendly
'SouthEast Ramp' facility of Florida's Sanford (SRF) Airport in a
beautifully decorated GA hangar with several hundred
invited guests.
But like the airplane itself, the TBM 850 Rollout was a
decidedly high-energy affair.
The Rollout was both lavish and classy. In addition to
fly-bys of the TBM 850, a number of factory presentations preceded
the actual introduction ceremony with descriptions of the decision
process that led to the R&D go-ahead, and the surprisingly
short test and certification period that started in 2004, and
finished just last month with the issuance of the US TC. Stephane
Mayer, Chairman and CEO of EADS Socata gave a detailed run-down of
the TBM 850's attributes and the reasons for the current model
upgrade -- while seeming to promise that there were more TBM models
in the offing.
As informative as these discussions were, the night was meant to
be entertaining... and it was. For the actual public rollout of the
850, the EADS Socata folks offered a little Vegas style
entertainment complete with an extensive dance review and some
beautiful showgirls who seemed genuinely amused to be in the
company of several hundred airplane nuts. It was well-choreographed
and immensely entertaining... especially as a number of audience
members were pulled from the boundaries of the show floor and
enticed into some of the dance numbers. EADS' Nic Chabbert
(pictured below) upheld the company honor by maneuvering himself
fairly well in the presence of very tempting company. These EADS
folks know how to party...
The dancers also also participated in a classy unveiling that
had it all... lights, smoke, music and special effects -- featuring
a brand-new TBM 850 on a rotating pedestal that showed just how
much effort was put into showing off the newest member of the
clan to an audience (mostly TBM owners) who could appreciate it
most. At the conclusion of these festivities, two TBM 850
owners were presented with keys to their new airplanes (pictured
below). All in all... t'was a great evening.
And so, the launch of the TBM 850 seems off to a good start.
Orders are tallying up faster than EADS Socata originally planned,
and production increases already on the books for 2006 seem to be
just what the flight surgeon ordered.
As previously reported, EADS Socata newest TBM member –
the six-seat TBM 850 pressurized single-engined turboprop was
announced several months ago and received the US TC at the end of
January. The TBM 850 builds on the success of the TBM 700 business
aircraft and offers owners and pilots a maximum cruise speed of 320
KTAS at FL260 in ISA conditions. EADS Socata officials repeatedly
emphasize that this will give TBM 850 operators the advantage of
the cruising speeds typical of light jets, with the economical
direct operating costs of a single-engine turboprop.
The TBM 850 is a significant leap forward over the already
boastful properties of the TBM 700 series... thanks in large part,
to the charms of Pratt & Whitney's exhaustively engineered
PT6A-66D. The PT6A-66D delivers 1,825 eshp flat-rated to 850 shp
for the TBM 850. Its single-crystal compressor turbine blades
enable higher operating temperatures and, coupled with a new
first-stage compressor design, gives the TBM 850 its enhanced
high-altitude performance.
Expecting to see the first new TBM 850 in all its glory, we were
impressed by the sight of it AND two more new 850s,
already in the process of being used to adapt their new owners (one
of whom was upgrading himself from a Cirrus SR22) to the operation
and performance of this airframe. One new owner actually
flew the aircraft in from Tarbes, France, (with a factory pilot)
and had conducted over 20 hours of training since getting to the
states, for a grand total of 40 hours TT in the airframe...
making him the high-time, non-factory, TBM 850 driver in North
America... a title that pleased him to no end.
The base price of the TBM 850 is set at $2,576,930. A version
with typical customer options and equipped for RVSM (Reduced
Vertical Separation Minimum) operation will list at $2,799,850.
ANN is expecting the opportunity to flight test the TBM 850
shortly, and as soon as we return from the annual Heli-Expo, we're
looking forward to seeing what all the fuss is about.
Unfortunately, our test flight will be sans showgirls. We'll
keep you updated.
SpaceX to Launch Inversion RAY Reentry Vehicle in Fall
See All