Story ID: 496 Daher
Daher TBM 940 Gets EASA Nod
By: Curt Epstein
Caption: The company expects to begin deliveries next month to European customers as it awaits FAA validation.
Word Count: 534
The 940, the newest member of Daher's TBM family, received EASA certification, the French airframer announced at EBACE 2019. According to Nicolas Chabbert, senior vice president of the OEM’s airplane business unit, the first delivery was scheduled to take place on or about June 3 to a European customer.

He acknowledged that the vast majority of the to-date orders for the 940 are from customers in from North America. “The next step for us is to get the validation from the FAA, and this is a process which is a little bit delayed, he told the audience at the company’s EBACE press conference. “So our customers with the American registry are waiting a little bit longer than we anticipated for this FAA validation but it is coming.” He told AIN that the aircraft will be flown to the U.S. in the coming weeks for evaluation.

The 940, which replaces the 930 in the company’s line-up, features enhanced flight management including autothrottle, and an intuitive smart single gauge, making it the world’s first turboprop with full autopilot integration. The company claims the improved performance gives the 940 15 percent better fuel economy than its TBM850 from 2006. It has new functionality through its Garmin GWX 70 radar, including turbulence detection. The new airplane, along with its older sibling 910, is also equipped with a new automatic icing detection system. “Once you have this auto switch on, basically you don’t need to care about anything, the ice detector is going to be picking up any ice and turn on all of your deicing systems for you,” explained Chabbert. “That is definitely a safety device for a single pilot. You forget, you just don’t pay attention. Well the system is there to supplement you nicely.”

Both aircraft now offer upgraded cabin amenities including new personal tablet storage, two additional USB power outlets, a universal 115V power outlet, and insulation foam on all panels. For the 910, the company continues to offer upgrades with the latest being the Garmin G100NXi package for the G1000 avionics suite, which offers Surface Watch to help pilots maintain situational awareness in the airport environment, visual approach assistance to non-controlled airports, and Baro V-Nav which allows precision approaches to be flown with vertical guidance. Chabbert expects more than 120 customers will choose the upgrade.

Daher has made 274 deliveries of the 900-series, including the TBM 900, 910, and 930. As of April 30, it had received 304 orders for the series. As it anticipates the first delivery of the 940, Daher has delivered 936 TBMs dating back to the TBM700A, which have amassed more than 1.6 million flight hours.  North America has accounted for the majority, with 716 deliveries, while 159 of the speedy turboprop singles have been delivered in Europe. In 2018, the European TBM fleet made more than 16,000 flights, accounting for 10 percent of all turboprop usage in the region.

Chabbert noted the company continues to improve its Me and My TBM application, which is now in its third iteration since its launch last year. It monitors aircraft health and serves as a communication platform for the TBM community. It also provides instant access to the manufacturer’s care and AOG teams.

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