TBM 700 World Gathering
Paris, 28 June 2001
The TBM 700 world gathering started on June 23rd and 24th at the Paris Air Show ended on June 28th in Tarbes by a private show featuring the "Cartouche Doré", French Air Force aerobatic team, flying on the military trainer Socata TB 30 Epsilon, and displays of the TB 20 Trinidad GT and of the TBM 700 by EADS Socata test pilots.
87 civilian and military pilots attended the 2001 TBM 700 World Gathering. Private owners, corporate pilots or military pilots from the French Air Force or the French Army Aviation. They came from Canada, Chile, France, Germany, Italy and the USA to follow technical conferences held in the Grand Hotel du Palais, in Biarritz, devoted to the optimal operation of the TBM 700.
The conferences presented operations and maintenance issues of the single engine turboprop. It was the opportunity for EADS SOCATA, the manufacturer of the TBM, but also for Pratt & Whitney Canada, avionics suppliers Shadin, Honeywell and Garmin, and SimCom training organization, to present their products and services for the TBM.
Jetfly Aviation, european fractional ownership operator, also presented the shared ownership programs.
Fifteen (15) participants came in flight. Nine (9) TBM 700 coming from the USA to the TBM World Gathering departed from Bangor (Maine) on June 19th landed in Paris on June 21th after stops in Goose Bay (Labrador), Narsarsuaq (Greenland) and Reykjavik (Iceland). They flew the 3,416 Nm course in 12 h 20 while the return trip from Tarbes in five stops lasted 14h30 with less favourables winds.
