Francois Legros/PARIS
Socata, the light aircraft subsidiary of France's Aerospatiale Matra, has delayed indefinitely certification of its TB360 twin-engined Tangara. Chairman and chief executive Philippe Debrun says Socata "preferred to mobilise its energy and skills in aircraft that are ready and can be sold at once, rather than deploying funds and expertise in advancing with the Tangara".
Debrun denies that the Tangara delay is due to insufficient capacity at the company's plant at Tarbes, south-west France, as the manufacturer works to meet demand for its other general aviation products. "We have plenty of orders [for the general aviation products]," he says, "but we also have the means to produce and deliver them. There are no production problems."
The Tangara was due for certification in 1998, but the manufacturer announced a delay in April of that year because of increased subcontract work for Airbus Industrie, Eurocopter and Lockheed Martin.
Debrun says the 135kW (180hp) Textron Lycoming O-360-powered Tangara must be industrialised and marketed. "This needs cash, energy and knowhow. We have made a choice to concentrate on work already at hand."
Socata manufactures three lines of light aircraft - the traditional piston-single TB series, the Epsilon military training aircraft and the TBM700 single-engined turboprop.
Debrun confirms that discussions on whether to put Socata on the market are still under way. "They could last a long time and it is possible that no decision will be made to sell."
He adds that Aerospatiale Matra's talks with DaimlerChrysler Aerospace and CASA to form European Aeronautic, Defense and Space are tying up all the top officials, so "talks on Socata were not a priority".
Source: Flight International
