TARBES, France - Daher-Socata has delivered the 700th series production TBM turboprop aircraft. The milestone airplane, a TBM 900, was provided to a private customer in Illinois, USA through a sale organized by Indiana's Muncie Aviation.
The TBM 700 was the first series-production pressurized single-engine aircraft to be certified. A total of 324 TBM 700s - all powered by a 700-shp engine - were built and delivered worldwide.
The program gained additional momentum with Daher-Socata's 2005 launch of the TBM 850, equipped with an 850-hp engine. A glass cockpit TBM 850 incorporating Garmin G1000 avionics was introduced in 2008. Deliveries of the TBM 850 totaled 338 through the end of 2013, and included the 500th TBM-series aircraft in 2009 and 600th in 2011.
Daher unveiled the latest version of the aircraft, the TBM 900, in March 2014, rapidly logging 50 initial sales. Already, 35 aircraft have been delivered. The manufacturer states that the TBM 900 delivers superior performance with low fuel consumption, offering a maximum cruise speed of 330 knots and a 1,730-nautical-mile maximum range. The new model features winglets, Hartzell's new five-blade composite propeller, a complete nose-to-firewall redesign for improved engine airflow circulation, an improved human-machine interface in the cockpit, and a completely revamped electrical system. It also uses a single-control throttle with a new torque limiter that enables the use of the PT6A-66D's 850 hp at takeoff, reducing ground roll and increasing its climb rate.