EADS-Socata's TBM 700B to Benefit
As Europeans Allow Single IFR OPs

EADS-Socata is expected to announce the sale of six TBM 700B single-engine turboprops at NBAA. The customer is believed to be an air taxi operator.

This follows the sale of ten airplanes earlier in the year to Luxembourg's Jetfly, the first TBM 700 fractional program operator, which is taking delivery of one aircraft every three months.

With the prospect of commercial single-engine IFR (SE-IFR) operations being permitted by most European regulators in early 2002, the French manufacturer is expecting a flood of orders for the TBM 700 towards year's end. European Joint Aviation Authorities (JAA) acceptance of SE-IFR will likely call for two-pilot operation, but could revolutionize the single-engine turboprop market in the region.

Next year's TBM 700 models are to be offered with a choice of two new generation avionics packages. The buyer's choice is between the Honeywell Bendix/King package and a Garmin/Honeywell system. The Honeywell Bendix package includes a Honeywell KMD 850 multifunction display, interfaced with the Goodrich Skywatch traffic advisory system and RDR 2000 weather radar. The Garmin/ Honeywell offering includes the brand new HF/VOR/ILS/GPS GNS 530 integrated to the Honeywell KMD 850 multifunction display, interfaced to the Goodrich Skywatch system and Honeywell weather radar. An emergency oxygen system with automated masks is now offered as an option.

U.S. sales of the TBM 700 account for 50% of EADS Socata's world sales. Two years ago, CEO Philippe Debrun set in motion a new strategy for the company that has seen TBM 700 production ramped up from three to four per month, modernized the TB "Caribbean" range of touring aircraft, engaged new dealerships and maintenance facilities in the U.S. and Singapore, and approved the building of a new TBM 700 production facility at its headquarters at Tarbes in the French Pyrenees.

-Mike Vines