SOCATA TB family

what is it?

The Socata TB is a series of light single-engine piston aircraft developed and manufactured by French aircraft company SOCATA. The letters TB within the designation stand for Tarbes, the French city where the aircraft series is manufactured. The TB series planes have come to be known as the "Caribbean Planes" due to the island naming convention adopted for the various models, though they are not often seen flown in that region. All aircraft (with the exception of the TB9) have a constant-speed propeller.

🔎How to recognise it: 1 piston engine with propeller · low wing · tricycle gear · 9.9 m wingspan

base stats

• speed 278 km/hcruise speed
• range 2,056 kmwithout refuelling
• seats 4passengers
• size 1,400 kgmax take-off weight
• built 2,150made in total

Bars compare against all aircraft: 3,500 km/h, 20,000 km, 850 seats; size and number built on a log scale up to 640 t (An-225) and 45,000 built (Cessna 172).

fun facts

• 🎂First flew 46 years ago, in 1980.
• 🚗Wingspan of 9.9 m: about 2 cars parked nose to tail.
• 🌍Range of 2,056 km: 11× Amsterdam to Brussels.

piston: A car-like piston engine turning a propeller: simple and cheap, the classic small plane.

spec sheet

first flight

1980-11-14

introduced

1975

status

still flying

number built

2,150

role

light single-engine piston aircraft

makers

Daher-SOCATA

engines

1× LYCOMING TIO-540-AB1AD

crew

1

passengers

4

length

7.8 m

wingspan

9.9 m

height

2.9 m

max take-off weight

1,400 kg

top speed

—

cruise speed

278 km/h

range

2,056 km

ceiling

7,620 m

wings

low wing

landing gear

tricycle gear

Specs are for the version in the Wikipedia article's specification section. Blank means the sources don't say.