TBM 850 N850BG, a 2006 legacy-cockpit aircraft, taxiing at Oxford, England, in October 2015. · Photo: James from Cheltenham, Gloucestershire, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Daher · Turboprop
TBM 850 (legacy cockpit)
The first TBM 850, between the 700C2 and the G1000 version; the last factory TBM with tube-display screens.
The legacy TBM 850 is one of the fastest used single-engine turboprops under about $2M, cruising near 320 kt. The catch is an aging cockpit most owners have already replaced, a small cabin and a six-figure engine overhaul at 3,500 hours.
Buy it if
You fly yourself or hire one pilot, usually carry two to four people 500 to 1,100 nm, want near-jet speed above most weather, and are happy with an upgraded Garmin panel or budgeting for one.
Skip it if
You need a lavatory or a cabin you can stand in, regularly fill all six seats with bags, or want the factory Garmin G1000 cockpit and autopilot without paying for a retrofit.
Biggest compromise
The cockpit. These 850s left the factory with Honeywell/Bendix-King tube displays and a KFC 325 autopilot, and keeping them running gets harder every year.
The numbers that matter
What it costs per year
$573K
at 300 hrs · one professional pilot
How far it flies
1,520 nm
900–1,100 nm with passengers
How fast
320 kt
high-speed cruise
Seats
4
4 typical, 5 maximum
Pilots needed
1
Certified for one pilot; most are owner-flown, and insurers expect formal type training.
Price
What one costs to buy
Typical asking price
$0
Other sites
Priced vs call
with a price / call for price
Only one of four legacy 850s for sale shows a price: $1.725M for a 6,100-hour example. Similar aircraft were asking $1.9M–$2.1M in 2024.
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, engine overhaul reserve and propeller reserve and trip costs rise as you fly more. One professional pilot, recurrent training, hangar, insurance and subscriptions and databases stay the same however much you fly.
Where the money goes
- One professional pilot$158,52528%
- Recurrent training$10,0002%
- Hangar$24,2004%
- Insurance$25,7574%
- Subscriptions and databases$6,0001%
- Fuel$157,91428%
- Airframe maintenance$115,35020%
- Engine overhaul reserve$64,65011%
- Propeller reserve and trip costs$10,5002%
One professional pilot is the biggest single cost at 28% of the total.
The JetGrade
70 out of 100 — Typical for its class
Peer group: TBM 700C1 / C2, TBM 850 G1000 / Elite, Pilatus PC-12/47, Piper Meridian, Piper PA-46 JetPROP DLX
Seven categories at a glance
- - - 70 = typical— This aircraft
Strongest on speed & trip time, weakest on running costs.
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
3 of 6 sample trips are comfortable nonstops.
Sample flight times
- 1.0 hr
Carlsbad → Las Vegas
205 nm · Short hop, well within range
- 2.4 hr
Carlsbad → Aspen
625 nm · Mountain airport; plan around winds and weather
- 2.8 hr
Santa Ana → San José del Cabo
765 nm · Comfortable nonstop with four aboard
- 3.5 hr
Teterboro → West Palm Beach
900 nm · Nonstop with four at reduced power; headwinds matter
- 4.6 hr
Dallas → Teterboro
1,190 nm · One stop with four aboard; nonstop when lighter
- 7.9 hr
Carlsbad → Teterboro
2,100 nm · Two stops with four aboard; one when lighter
Lineage
What came before and after
2006–2007
TBM 850 (legacy cockpit)
850 shp engine adds about 27 kt; original tube-display cockpit.
What changed from the TBM 700C1 / C2
- PT6A-66D engine delivers 850 shp in climb and cruise, up from 700 shp.
- Takeoff and landing stay at 700 shp; an 850 detent on the flap handle unlocks full power.
- Maximum cruise rises to about 320 kt, roughly 27 kt faster than the TBM 700.
- Climbs to 26,000 ft in about 15 minutes, around a quarter quicker than the 700C2.
- Maximum takeoff weight stays at 7,394 lb, the same as the 700C2.
- Keeps the 700C2's Honeywell/Bendix-King tube displays and KFC 325 autopilot.
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 850 (legacy cockpit)
- JetGrade
- 70
- Cost per year
- $573K
- Range
- 1,520 nm
- Speed
- 320 kt
- Seats
- 4
- Cabin length
- 13′ 3″
- Pilots
- 1
- Years built
- 2006–2007
← Before
- JetGrade
- 70
- Price
- $2M
- Cost per year
- $457K
- Range
- 1,580 nm
- Speed
- 296 kt
- Seats
- 4
- Cabin length
- 13′ 3″
- Pilots
- 1
- Years built
- 2002–2006
After →
- JetGrade
- 70
- Price
- $2.4M
- Cost per year
- $510K
- Range
- 1,520 nm
- Speed
- 320 kt
- Seats
- 4
- Cabin length
- 13′ 3″
- Pilots
- 1
- Years built
- 2008–2013
Alternative
- JetGrade
- 79
- Price
- $3M–$4.25M guide
- Cost per year
- $524K
- Range
- 1,660 nm
- Speed
- 265 kt
- Seats
- 6
- Cabin length
- 16′ 11″
- Pilots
- 1
- Years built
- 2006–2008
- TBM 850 G1000 / Elite instead: Same engine and speed with a factory Garmin G1000 cockpit and autopilot plus 11 more gallons of fuel; asks run several hundred thousand dollars higher.
- TBM 700C1 / C2 instead: Same cabin and weights with the 700 shp engine; about 30 kt slower but cheaper to buy.
- Pilatus PC-12/47 instead: About 50 kt slower, but a far larger cabin, a cargo door, an enclosed lavatory option and much more payload.
Gold marks the best figure in each row.
Owning one
What to know before you buy
Engines & inspections
1 × Pratt & Whitney Canada PT6A-66D · 850 shp each
No APUEngine hours until overhaul
- A inspection · 400 hr
- Flap actuator lubrication directive · 400 hr
- B and C inspections · 800 hr
- Engine hot section inspection · 1,750 hr
- Engine overhaul · 3,500 hr
- Propeller overhaul · 4,000 hr
- Annual inspection every 12 months
No legacy 850 we found for sale mentions an engine program. Most owners set money aside each hour, so price the next overhaul into any offer.
Known issues
Engine overhaul cost exposure
The engine is overhauled every 3,500 hours; the TBM 700's smaller engine costs $626,000, so plan for a similar bill.
Main landing gear cracking
Gear cylinders need crack checks every 240 landings unless reinforced gear is fitted; a new 2026 check is proposed.
Aging original cockpit
Original tube displays suffer power-board failures near $10,000 each; a Garmin retrofit started at about $120,000.
Pre-buy checklist
0 of 10 checked
Daher still supports the TBM 850 with factory parts and an upgrade catalog that lists the legacy version separately, and its US service network grew in 2025.
Review
The full review
Strengths
- Cruises near 320 kt at 26,000 ft, about 27 kt faster than the TBM 700 it replaced.
- Climbs to 26,000 ft in about 15 minutes and flies as high as 31,000 ft, above most weather.
- With full tanks it still carries about 674 lb after the pilot and reaches about 1,520 nm at economy cruise.
Limitations
- Cabin is 4 ft tall and just under 4 ft wide, with no lavatory as standard.
- The original tube-display cockpit is aging; a Garmin retrofit started at about $120,000.
- Takeoff power stays at 700 shp, so it needs about 2,840 ft to clear 50 ft at maximum weight.
The TBM 850 arrived in 2006 as the fastest version yet of Socata's TBM 700, the pressurized single-engine turboprop that started the fast-single category. It kept the 700C2's airframe, cabin and 7,394 lb maximum takeoff weight but swapped in Pratt & Whitney Canada's PT6A-66D, which delivers 850 shp in climb and cruise while staying at 700 shp for takeoff and landing. About 88 aircraft built through 2007 carry the original Honeywell/Bendix-King tube displays and KFC 325 autopilot. From 2008 the same airplane came with a Garmin G1000 cockpit, and that version is listed separately.
Pilot's take
The legacy 850 flies like a TBM 700 with more power in reserve. Climb and cruise are the rewards: moving the flap handle to its 850 detent unlocks the extra power, and cruising above 310 kt in the mid-20s is normal. Takeoffs and go-arounds feel like a 700C2, including the strong left roll if power comes in fast at low speed, which the French accident agency linked to several losses of control. The original EFIS and KFC 325 autopilot work, but they ask more of a single pilot than a modern Garmin setup. Treat recurrent training as part of the purchase price.
Who this is for
An experienced owner-pilot, or an owner with one hired pilot, flying 150 to 400 hours a year with two to four people, who wants near-jet speed for less than a G1000 TBM and is comfortable with an older cockpit.
Ask about this aircraft
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