The first production EADS Socata TBM 850 high speed turboprop has been prepared in France ahead of planned delivery to its US launch customer later this month.
The aircraft (N850TB) took its first flight on 23 January, the same day the type received its US Federal Aviation Administration certification. This flight of 2h50mins allowed Socata to verify the conformity of the production aircraft with the results certificated on the TBM850 prototype.
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The first production EADS Socata TBM850 at the manufacturer's home airport Tarbes-Lourdes Pyrénées on 10 February |
The aircraft is being prepared for its ferry flight from the company's French base in Tarbes outside Bordeaux to the its facilities in Pembroke Pines, Florida. The aircraft is due to be officially rolled-out to customers at nearby Sanford airport on 23 February before being delivered to its as-yet-undisclosed final US customer.
However, severe weather in New England in recent days could stall the aircraft's progress down the US Eastern Seaboard. Record snowfalls were recorded overnight in New York and Boston, with more than 60cm (24in) falling in Central Park. The snow has been accompanied by high winds, according to the US National Weather Service, and the resulting blizzards have shut down several key airports in the area and led to the cancellation of around 1,200 flights so far.
The aircraft has a maximum range in fuel economy mode of around 2,800km (1,520nm) at fuel economy cruise and the usual route Socata chooses for its ferry flights takes in Scotland, Iceland, Greenland and Canada before flying non-stop to Florida from Bangor, Maine.
FAA certification was received six weeks after European Aviation Safety Agency approval.
JUSTIN WASTNAGE / LONDON
External link:
Read an account of a typical TBM ferry flight from France to Florida in the words of the company’s retired chief pilot Tom Cunningham on the EADS Socata web site.
Source: Flight International
