I agree, but the TBM gives you a lot more capability, at a way higher cost, than an E500.
A TBM costs around £30000/year in routine maintenance; that's if you never fly it. One can do it on less of course but that is the average, which covers some expensive lifed items. It burns some 50USG/hr at about 280kt TAS (few people fly them flat out) so you can work that out. Against that, it can carry 6 big people, a ton of junk, do FL300+, has a ~ 99.x% despatch rate, is built like a tank (no in-flight breakups ever). The Eurocontrol-collected airspace fees are not all that significant, at that level of "business".
But the E500 is about half the above cost, and I think it is a bad business decision to pitch it above 2T, when the Jetprop is the obvious alternative which delivers more performance, at a similar cost. Unless of course they are banking on the US market alone.
The E500 can reportedly operate OK from grass, which is not wise for the other stuff.
I am not in aviation as a business but have been in manufacturing business since 1978, and it is awfully hard to make progress with something which doesn't offer a clear advantage. Aviation is very conservative and most private punters will go for a proven solution every time. The Jetprop sets up a bar which is hard to cross, until you deliver a whole lot more capability like a TBM. If the E500 had a huge amount going for it, we would see loads flying by now.
Last edited by IO540; 12th Aug 2011 at 08:09.
Reason: UK -> US