EADS Socata has obtained approval from the European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) of a design evolution that will enable the TBM 700 to meet the Reduced Vertical Separation Minimum (RVSM) requirements worldwide. The TBM700 is the first high performance single-engine turboprop to benefit from this approval. The RVSM regulation requires aircraft flying from 29,000 to 41,000 feet above sea level to be capable of controlling their altitude accurately enough so that air traffic controllers can safely space traffic at 1,000-foot altitude increments rather than the present 2,000-foot spacing. The rule will take effect in the United States and throughout Canada beginning January 20, 2005. Reduced Vertical Separation Minimum (RVSM) requirements are already in place over Northern Canada, Europe, Australia, the north Atlantic and the Pacific Ocean. The approval covers TBM 700 models currently in production. Wherever this regulation is enforced this modification will allow TBM700 operators to have access to its maximum certified altitude of 31,000 feet. Subject to avionics configuration, in service aircraft can also be equipped with this avionics package through an EADS Socata Service Bulletin granting them the RVSM capability.
EADS Socata is the leading general aviation manufacturer in Europe and an industrial partner of major aerospace programs. Wholly owned by EADS, the second largest aerospace and defense company in the world, EADS Socata generated $200 million USD in sales in 2003 and employs 1,080 people in France and the United States.
