TBM 700A N160RM, built in 1992, taxiing at Gloucestershire Airport, England. · Photo: James from Cheltenham, Gloucestershire, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Daher · Turboprop
TBM 700A
The first production TBM, built 1990–1999, ahead of the 700B, 700C, 850 and today's TBM 900 series.
The 700A still delivers the TBM's core promise, about 300 knots on one engine, for roughly $0.9M to $1.4M. Buy it for speed and short-runway ability rather than hauling people and bags, and shop hard on engine time and history.
Buy it if
You fly yourself or with one professional pilot, usually carry one to three people on trips under about 700 nm, and want close to 300 knots with turbine reliability for about $0.9M to $1.4M.
Skip it if
You regularly fill every seat with bags, need a toilet, want a wide door for older passengers, or cannot absorb a six-figure engine bill on an aircraft worth around a million dollars.
Biggest compromise
Payload. With full tanks, a typically equipped 700A carries only about 340 lb including the pilot, so four passengers mean leaving fuel behind and stopping sooner.
The numbers that matter
What it costs per year
$395K
at 300 hrs · one professional pilot
How far it flies
1,550 nm
About 750–1,050 nm with four passengers, depending on empty weight
How fast
300 kt
high-speed cruise
Seats
4
4 typical; 5 using the right seat
Pilots needed
1
Certified for one pilot and usually owner-flown; insurers expect type-specific training.
Price
What one costs to buy
Typical asking price
$0
Other sites
Priced vs call
with a price / call for price
Two of five 700As listed in September 2026 show prices: $895,000 for a 1991 with its engine near overhaul, and $1.395M for a low-time 1994.
Price vs its family and alternatives
Scroll to explore · select a jet for details
For sale now
None listed right now
Cost to own
What it costs per year to run
300hours / year
Per year
Per flight hour
Estimate — your operator will quote actual numbers.
Fuel, airframe maintenance and engine overhaul reserve rise as you fly more. One professional pilot, hangar and insurance stay the same however much you fly.
Where the money goes
Partial estimate- One professional pilot$105,65027%
- Hangar$20,6505%
- Insurance$19,7505%
- Fuel$138,18635%
- Airframe maintenance$55,95014%
- Engine overhaul reserve$54,45014%
Fuel is the biggest single cost at 35% of the total.
The JetGrade
67 out of 100 — Below its class average
Peer group: Daher / Socata TBM 700B, Piper Meridian PA-46-500TP, Piper / JetPROP PA-46 JetPROP DLX, Pilatus PC-12/45, Pilatus PC-12 (original)
Seven categories at a glance
- - - 70 = typical— This aircraft
Strongest on speed & trip time, weakest on cabin & passenger comfort.
Grades are editorial opinions about the model, not any specific aircraft. Sponsors and affiliates have no input. Reviewed 2026-09-30.
Where it flies
Sample trips and reach
Typical trips on a map
Nonstop
Depends on weight or weather
Fuel stop likely
1 of 6 sample trips are comfortable nonstops.
Sample flight times
- 1.2 hr
Carlsbad → Las Vegas
205 nm · Short hop, well within range
- 2.9 hr
Carlsbad → Aspen
625 nm · Mountain airport; weight and weather matter
- 3.4 hr
Santa Ana → San José del Cabo
765 nm · Four aboard means slower cruise or lighter bags
- 3.8 hr
Teterboro → West Palm Beach
900 nm · Nonstop possible with two or three aboard
- 4.8 hr
Dallas → Teterboro
1,190 nm · Needs one stop, typically mid-route
- 8.9 hr
Carlsbad → Teterboro
2,100 nm · Two stops typical; headwinds may add one
Lineage
What came before and after
1990–1999
TBM 700A
The original TBM: narrow rear door, 700 shp, 30,000 ft ceiling.
Size and cabin
How big it is, inside and out
Outside
Silhouette · scaled to length
Length
Wingspan
Height
Inside the cabin
Cabin length
Width
Height
Compare
How it stacks up
This aircraft
TBM 700A
- JetGrade
- 67
- Cost per year
- $395K
- Range
- 1,550 nm
- Speed
- 300 kt
- Seats
- 4
- Cabin length
- 13′ 4″
- Pilots
- 1
- Years built
- 1990–1999
After →
- JetGrade
- 69
- Price
- $1.29M
- Cost per year
- $457K
- Range
- 1,550 nm
- Speed
- 300 kt
- Seats
- 4
- Cabin length
- 13′ 3″
- Pilots
- 1
- Years built
- 1999–2002
Alternative
- JetGrade
- 63
- Price
- $1.28M
- Cost per year
- $418K
- Range
- 1,000 nm
- Speed
- 260 kt
- Seats
- 4
- Cabin length
- 12′ 3″
- Pilots
- 1
- Years built
- 2000–2015
Alternative
- JetGrade
- 77
- Price
- $2.9M
- Cost per year
- $515K
- Range
- 1,500 nm
- Speed
- 265 kt
- Seats
- 6
- Cabin length
- 16′ 11″
- Pilots
- 1
- Years built
- 1996–2005
- Daher / Socata TBM 700B instead: The same engine and speed with a door almost twice as wide, an optional pilot door and 31,000 ft certification, usually for a higher asking price.
- Piper Meridian PA-46-500TP instead: Piper's smaller single-engine turboprop, built from 2001, trading some speed for a 500 shp engine, lower fuel burn and newer airframes.
- Pilatus PC-12/45 instead: A much larger cabin with a big cargo door and an available enclosed toilet, in exchange for slower cruise and a higher purchase price.
Gold marks the best figure in each row.
Owning one
What to know before you buy
Engines & inspections
1 × Pratt & Whitney Canada PT6A-64 · 700 shp each
No APUEngine hours until overhaul
- Daher inspection cycle · 800 hr
- Tail fin fitting checks · 1,200 hr
- Engine hot section inspection · 1,750 hr
- Engine overhaul · 3,500 hr
- Propeller overhaul · 4,000 hr
- Annual inspection every 12 months
Ask whether the engine is enrolled in an hourly maintenance plan and whether it transfers. A new 850 shp replacement engine is also offered as an upgrade.
Known issues
Low-speed torque roll
France's accident bureau found low-speed loss of control, often on go-arounds with sudden full power, behind many TBM 700 accidents.
Engine overhaul near half its value
A 2026 fixed-price PT6A-64 overhaul costs about $626,000, roughly half the asking price of many examples.
Main gear cylinder cracks
A 2015 directive requires repeated crack checks on the main landing gear until reinforced parts are installed.
Pre-buy checklist
0 of 10 checked
Daher, the current manufacturer, lists 54 service centers worldwide and sells TBM parts online. Pratt & Whitney Canada and independent shops such as StandardAero maintain the PT6A-64 engine.
Review
The full review
Strengths
- Cruises at about 300 knots (345 mph) on one 700 shp engine, among the fastest single-engine turboprops of its era.
- Clears a 50 ft obstacle in about 2,133 ft at sea level, with a 61-knot stall speed.
- Listed from $895,000 in September 2026, the lowest asking price we found across the TBM family.
Limitations
- A typically equipped example carries only about 340 lb, pilot included, with full fuel.
- The rear door is about 2 ft 2 in wide, roughly half the width of the later 700B's door.
- A 2026 fixed-price engine overhaul costs about $626,000, around half the value of many examples.
The TBM 700A is the original TBM. Certified by French and US authorities in 1990, it was among the first pressurized single-engine turboprops, born from a partnership between Mooney and Socata, the company now known as Daher. Socata built the A model until the TBM 700B, with a much wider cabin door, took over for 1999. Every later TBM, up to today's TBM 960, grew from this airframe.
Pilot's take
Pilots describe the TBM 700A as quick and responsive, more like a very fast single than a small jet. The catch is torque. At low speed, sudden full power rolls and yaws the airplane hard to the left, and France's accident bureau linked many losses of control to exactly that during go-arounds. Smooth power handling, disciplined approach speeds and recurrent simulator training are the price of admission. Flown that way, it rewards its pilot with turbine reliability and close to 300 knots from shorter runways than most jets need.
Who this is for
Experienced owner-pilots, or owners with one professional pilot, who fly one to three people on regional trips, want turbine speed and reliability, and will commit to recurrent training for its demanding low-speed handling.
Ask about this aircraft
Answers come only from our research file on the Daher / Socata TBM 700A.
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