Aircraft model
SOCATA TB21
Everything here is true of every aircraft of the type, not of any one aircraft.
The Socata TB 21 Trinidad TC is the turbocharged retractable at the top of the French TB range: 250 hp, a 25,000-foot ceiling and 180 knots in the high teens, with the same gull-wing doors and wide cabin as the rest of the family. Apart from the turbocharged engine it is the same aeroplane as the TB-20, and it followed the same path: no engine or weight change within the run, then the Generation Two, or GT, of 2000, with a raised carbon-fibre roof, more headroom, larger windows, a bigger baggage door and a Bendix/King panel with a digital autopilot as standard. The GT cabin is heavier, so a 2000 or later aircraft carries less than a 1990s one for the same fuel.
It is a comfortable and capable long-distance aeroplane and it is far more common in Europe than in the United States. The turbocharged Lycoming runs hot and is expensive at overhaul, and the exhaust and turbocharger system needs careful inspection. Without pressurisation the ceiling means oxygen for everyone aboard on any long high flight. The practical reservation for an American buyer is support: parts come from Daher in France, the US fleet is small, and fewer mechanics have worked on the type than on a comparable Mooney or Bonanza.
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Put SOCATA TB21 side by side with up to two other models.
- SOCATA TB21
What it is
| Seats | 4 |
|---|---|
| Landing gear | tricycle |
| Engines | 1 |
| Engine | Lycoming TIO-540-AB1AD (turbocharged) |
| Horsepower | 250 hp |
| Fuel | 100LL |
| Certification basis | FAR23 |
| Production start | 1985 |
| Production end | 2002 |
| Endorsements required | complex;high-performance |
Performance
| Cruise speed | 180 KTAS |
|---|---|
| Range | 1,000 nm |
| Service ceiling | 25,000 ft |
| Climb rate | 1,100 ft/min |
| Stall speed (Vso) | 54 KCAS |
| Takeoff over 50 ft | 1,800 ft |
| Landing over 50 ft | 1,600 ft |
Load and fuel
| Seats | 4 |
|---|---|
| Useful load | 1,186 lb |
| Full-fuel payload | 670 lb |
| Max takeoff weight | 3,086 lb |
| Empty weight | 1,900 lb |
| Usable fuel | 86 gal |
| Fuel burn at cruise | 14.5 gal/h |
Cost of ownership
| Price, low | $150,000 |
|---|---|
| Price, high | $325,000 |
| Prices as of | 2026 |
| Engine TBO | 1,800 h |
| Overhaul cost, low | $62,000 |
| Overhaul cost, high | $88,000 |
The fleet and its record
| Registered, all time | 79 |
|---|---|
| Active fleet | 50 |
| Median year built | 2000.0 |
| NTSB events, last 10 years | 4 |
| Fatal events, last 10 years | 2 |
| Events per 1,000 active, last 10 years | 80 · thin base (low)1 |
| Personal-flying events per 1,000 active | 60 · thin base (low)2 |
| Ownership transfers, last 24 months | 13 |
| Transfers per 100 active | 26 · thin base (low)3 |
| Airworthiness directives | 10 |
| Directives, last 5 years | 1 |
| Rate confidence | low |
- Events per 1,000 active, last 10 years: per 1,000 active aircraft · base 50 active.
- Personal-flying events per 1,000 active: per 1,000 active aircraft · base 50 active.
- Transfers per 100 active: per 100 active aircraft · base 50 active.
Peer scores6
| Peer class | Fixed wing single-engine, piston, 1 engine, 3-4 seats |
|---|---|
| Accident record | —1 |
| Severity | —2 |
| Access | 2.3 of 103 |
| Support | 1.9 of 104 |
| Liquidity | 8.7 of 105 |
- Accident record: class median 32.28 · 202 models in class.
- Severity: class median 12.5.
- Access: class median 775.
- Support: class median 147.5.
- Liquidity: class median 19.9.
- Each of the five categories places the model within its peer class, from 0 (the worst of the class) to 10 (the best): a position among comparable models, not a grade. The overall score is the sum of the categories shown that are scored, out of 10 for each (50 when all five are); it is given only when at least 4 of the five are scored, and it can be set against another model's only when both are in the same peer class and scored on the same categories.