Speaking on the eve of the 2024 NBAA-BACE, Daher Aircraft CEO Nicolas Chabbert championed the company’s recent hurricane relief efforts and discussed updates to the company's turboprop lines, as well as the Me & My TBM app.
Chabbert noted Daher worked alongside private Kodiak and TBM owners to ferry vital supplies and rescue animals in the aftermath of Hurricane Helene and Hurricane Milton. Daher also provided on-site repair services for a U.S. Forest Service Kodiak 100 in North Carolina as part of the relief efforts after a jet blast damaged the aircraft.
For Daher, this kind of assistance is an ongoing effort. Chabbert pointed to the company's recently announced partnership with the Recreational Aviation Foundation to provide transportation support. “We are now on our second year to provide support to RAF,” Chabbert said, adding that the company will continue to provide long-term aid to the U.S. Forest Service and RAF.
Meanwhile, he announced the latest upgrade for the Kodiak 100, integrating Hartzell Propeller’s five-blade composite propeller with a pitch latch function for water operations on floats. The new pitch latch function enables float-equipped Kodiaks to maneuver more easily on water with greater control, the company stated.
In addition, the upgraded prop can be retrofitted on in-service Kodiak 100s through the Hartzell Top Prop program. The enhancement comes as Daher commemorates the 20th anniversary of the Kodiak 100’s first flight, which took place on Oct. 16, 2004.
Also, Chabbert noted that the TBM 960, now in its third year of production, is continuing to undergo improvements. The aircraft’s e-copilot enhancements include “Home Safe,” an emergency autoland program triggered after 30 minutes of pilot inactivity, as well as alert messages for pilots and taxi information enhanced by 3D visuals.
Having those alert messages “tremendously changes safety in the cockpit,” said Chabbert. He added that audio alerts help to improve pilot reaction time. Other recent safety updates to the TBM 960 include high-intensity LED nosegear taxi and landing lights.
Moving into the technology side of the business, Chabbert unveiled Version 7 of its Me & My TBM cloud-based pilot app, highlighting changes that include integrated document management and real-time support for TBM owners and operators. The app now features centralized documentation updates with real-time syncing. Chabbert noted that the app has more than 400 active users per month, “a third of the fleet.”
Last year at NBAA-BACE, Daher CEO Didier Kayat announced that trials of the EcoPulse hybrid propulsion technology were imminent. A TBM 900 with wing-mounted electric thrusters has been the company’s platform for testing EcoPulse. Chabbert did not have any specific updates on the project but hinted that an announcement is coming soon. “We are about to finalize the report after the test campaign,” he said, adding that the company plans to announce the findings in December.
Daher Aircraft is showcasing the TBM 960 and Kodiak 900 at Henderson Executive Airport during NBAA-BACE 2024 in Las Vegas this week.