The TBM family of aircraft led the results with 56 TBM 960s and 910s delivered, and the Kodiak 100 and 900 utility models accounted for 18 deliveries. The numbers mark a level state overall from 2022 for the OEM, echoing the challenges still presented in the global aerospace industry revolving around both supply chain and maintaing a steady workforce.

• READ MORE: We Fly: Kodiak 900

“These figures reflect the market’s stabilization as we continue to see a strong demand for TBM and Kodiak aircraft, although challenges persist in affecting our industry—including employment and supply chain issues,” said Nicolas Chabbert, senior vice president of Daher’s aircraft division. “There have been efforts made to address these difficulties and improve the situation. We are seeing the results of our solutions in the employment field through internal training and the attraction of new talent. For the supply chain, the importance of delivering on time will enable us to continue seeking opportunities in a strong market.”

• READ MORE: Daher Celebrates Milestone TBM Deliveries, Kodiak Success

Daher said most of the TBMs delivered during 2023 were top-of-the-line TBM 960s, with the largest percentage going to the North American market. Among those deliveries, 43 went to the U.S. and two to Canada. The remainder of deliveries included seven in Europe, three in Latin America, and one in Asia.

Most of the 18 Kodiak aircraft delivered last year were sent to a range of private owners and “multimission operators” in North America, with the North Carolina Forest Service’s aviation division among the company’s new customers. Deliveries included the Kodiak 100 Series III, which now has a five-blade Hartzell composite propeller as standard equipment, and the larger, faster Kodiak 900, which Daher introduced in 2022.   

• WATCH: We Fly: Kodiak 100 in Training

A total of 1,187 TBMs and 339 Kodiaks had been delivered worldwide through the end of 2023, and the global fleet has logged nearly 3 million flight hours. The aircraft are supported under Daher’s newly consolidated network called TBM & Kodiak Care.

The post Daher Delivers 74 Aircraft During 2023, Reports Orders for 100 More appeared first on FLYING Magazine.

They represent some of our most precious resources in aviation, and a collection of more than 11,000 volunteers coordinated by the RAF have helped maintain them and promote them to the flying community.

Join FLYING’s editor-in-chief Julie Boatman as she flies in with a work crew in a Daher Kodiak 100 to experience the camaraderie and satisfaction that participating in such an important effort can bring.

Look for the full story in our feature in the latest issue of FLYING, Issue 944 for December 2023/January 2024. Subscribers will receive it in their mailbox or inbox soon.

The post We Fly: The RAF at 20 Years Into Moose Creek appeared first on FLYING Magazine.

In past years, newly completed Kodiaks were flown to other locations outside of the state for paint—and required the removal of flight control surfaces in the process. Now, the company can keep it local. 

“This underscores our commitment to the Kodiak’s future as we evolve the aircraft family,” said Nicolas Chabbert, senior vice president of Daher’s Aircraft Division. “It follows the launch of two new Kodiak versions since Daher purchased the product line four years ago: the enhanced Kodiak 100 Series III, which we introduced during 2021; and the larger Kodiak 900, unveiled in July 2022.”

READ MORE: We Fly the Daher Kodiak 900, Ready for Grand Adventures

Daher invested $2.7 million in the various elements of the operation, including distinct aircraft preparation and paint booths and the employment of already-skilled personnel to accomplish the work. The 9,000-square-foot facility was designed and constructed by local contractors. It allows for the process to replicate that in place for TBMs at Tarbes, France, where components are painted individually—fuselage, wings, control surfaces, cowlings and doors—before joining together on the production line. A more environmentally friendly electrostatic process is used to apply the paint, with more consistent results and a mirror finish.

SAF in Sandpoint?

In a press briefing at NBAA-BACE this week in Las Vegas, Chabbert indicated that Daher has just begun the process to bring sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) into its Sandpoint facility so that it can both deliver aircraft and conduct its corporate and flight test operations using SAF much as it does in the company’s Tarbes location.

When asked about any possible difference in acceptance of the use of SAF by Kodiak customers and personnel in Sandpoint, Chabbert confirmed its positive reception: “You know, the funny thing is that there is no resistance. It is actually something that has been requested by the people in Sandpoint. So I can tell you that I believe that, contrary to what people will say—that there is more consciousness in Europe as opposed to the U.S.—I don’t feel that way. I think there is the same level of concern. It’s treated differently and with a different approach. But [in] the end, it’s not the approach that counts—it’s the result.”

New TKS ‘Bio’ Fluid

In another eco-minded improvement for its Kodiak line, Daher has introduced a new de-icing fluid that will reduce environmental impact. In partnership with TKS supplier CAV Systems, the fluid, TKS 406 Bio, replaces the DTD-406B product in use. TKS systems can be found not only on Kodiaks, but also the legacy SOCATA TB-20 and -21 Trinidads. 

“I think it is important that the way we are going to reduce [the pollution] of our activities is not just—and is beyond—the use of fuel,” said Chabbert.

The post Daher Opens New Paint Facility for Kodiaks in Idaho appeared first on FLYING Magazine.

There may not be another airplane coming, honestly. And it’s all fine as long as you’re fine, and all goes well. And what if the flight goes perfectly, but you or one of your group suffers a cardiac event while you’re setting up camp? It feels like an outside possibility—until it happens to someone you care about, and you’re many rugged miles from medical help.

As part of its effort to place critical care medical devices within several wilderness areas, the Backcountry Aviation Defibrillator Project is positioning automated external defibrillators (AEDs) at high-traffic remote airstrips across Idaho. The Zoll 3 units communicate via Wi-Fi to display their operational status—and in the future are proposed to broadcast their availability and status through flight planning applications. 

The first of the missions to put these AEDs in place were conducted with the support of Daher using two of its Kodiak 100s, starting at Cavanaugh Bay Airport (66S) in Coolin near Daher’s Kodiak facility at Sandpoint in northern Idaho, and then going into other popular strips in the state: Big Creek Airport (U60) in Valley County and Johnson Creek (3U2) in Yellow Pine in the state’s central section; and to Smiley Creek (U87) about 35 miles north of Ketchum.

Nicolas Chabbert, senior vice president of Daher’s Aircraft Division and CEO of Kodiak Aircraft, flew the mission to Cavanaugh Bay. 

“At Daher, our philosophy is: ‘We support those who care for aviation,’ and the Backcountry Aviation Defibrillator Project flights are a continuation of this commitment,” said Chabbert, noting the project makes a fitting complement to the company’s support of the Recreational Aviation Foundation and other backcountry missions.

WATCH: We Fly: Kodiak 100 in Training

Sam Perez, organizer for the Backcountry Aviation Defibrillator Project, thanked Daher for its support with an airplane most capable for the mission.

“The Idaho Aviation Association is exceptionally grateful for Daher’s generosity and support of our mission to install these lifesaving defibrillators in Idaho’s remote backcountry airstrips,” Perez said. “We could not have done so without the help of Daher and our many donors who helped pay for defibrillator units. Now, aviators and general aviation enthusiasts who use these remote airstrips will have a fighting chance should a cardiovascular event occur.”  

Daher sponsored the AED in place at Cavanaugh Bay. Other donors included Lynn and Shirley McCullough (owners of a Daher TBM 910) at Big Creek; Dr. Jon Berman at Smiley Creek; and Rick Bosshardt at Johnson Creek.

The post Idaho Backcountry Airports Get Kodiak-Delivered Defibrillators appeared first on FLYING Magazine.

The point made? The composite structure is no more fragile than a similar aluminum prop, with the same ground-handling operations and repair categories as well. And the performance gains shown by the transition to the new props on its TBM 960, Kodiak 900, and Kodiak 100 Series III models prove their worth. “We are getting lighter weight,” said Nicolas Chabbert, senior vice president of Daher’s Aircraft Division, “and, of course, the low noise and vibration is something that we’re particularly interested in, on the highest power output on the Kodiak 900,” where the Pratt & Whitney PT6A-140A tops out at 950 hp. 

• READ MORE: We Fly the Daher Kodiak 900, Ready for Grand Adventures

The weight savings of 6.3 pounds translates into greater takeoff performance—and reasonable maintainability in the field as operators of the Kodiak 100 have experienced since 2014. The nickel-cobalt edge can be stripped and replaced, said J.J. Frigge, CEO of Hartzell, “and so you’re getting a brand-new leading edge—and also you’re adding material back to the blades, so that you’re restoring the blade to factory dimensions.”

Made for the Backcountry

“The goal was to…go in and out of backcountry runways the same way we had done it previously, but now we are significantly reducing the noise impact,” said Chabbert. “So we are having a huge benefit when it comes to places not only in Europe but also around the world where noise matters.” Daher’s corporation as a whole has invested a great deal in composites manufacturing as well, particularly in thermoplastics that can be recycled, repaired, and even welded like more traditional materials.

Daher debuted its Kodiak 900 last year at Oshkosh to great response—including from agencies taking on special missions, though it has struggled a bit to translate the momentum into production as it faces similar supply chain issues plaguing the aerospace industry as a whole. Still, Chabbert noted that Daher expects to deliver eight of the 900s in 2023 and twice that in 2024. FLYING honored the 900 with its Editors’ Choice Award for Aircraft this year.

• READ MORE: Daher Shows Off Kodiak 900, 100 & New TBM 960 Styles 

The 900 has created its own category, in a way. It was positioned as a larger, faster, more upscale version of the Kodiak 100 series, and though this has certainly been true, Daher’s flight ops pilots have witnessed even better results in remote, unimproved strips than they originally uncovered during the testing prior to Part 23 type certificate approval. 

This means the 900 can be used to support a wide variety of the humanitarian and relief missions for which the 100 was first developed—though both models continue to serve. 

“We care to support associations—especially nonprofit associations—that are really after something that is good for aviation,” said Chabbert. “One that is absolutely natural for us is the Recreational Aviation Foundation…We are super happy to be able to provide the use of the Kodiak 100 to cover all of the northwest activity for RAF…and to load and carry some of the heavy stuff into places that are literally impossible to get to by road.”

Daher recently supported two of the RAF’s rehabilitation projects, including one at the Moose Creek Ranger Station (1U1) in Idaho earlier this summer. The U.S. Forest Service strip was originally created 92 years ago using heavy equipment but now must be supported without mechanized equipment—save for aircraft. Daher donated the use of a Kodiak 900 to move materials, including tractor parts and shingles, that normally would have required mules or a helicopter to put into position. The RAF 100 is one display at AirVenture along with the 900 and TBM 960.

TBM Milestones

The TBM 960 launched out of the Sun ’n Fun Aerospace Expo in April 2022, and it has now logged its 80th delivery of the model to a private customer in the U.S. this month. It also marks a total of 488 aircraft in the TBM 900 series—the 900, 910, 930, 940, and 960—brought to the market overall since the TBM 900’s first flight a decade ago.

• READ MORE: Quest to Daher

The 960 debuted with the first dual-channel FADEC turboprop engine, the PT6E-66XT, with its proprietary engine and propeller electronic control system (EPECS) automating engine start and other management, and a data transmission and control unit streaming more than 100 data points to internal memory. Now, with Garmin’s official release of PlaneSync this week, the TBM 960 can come out into the open as having the GDL60 datalink controller at the heart of PlaneSync. The data transfer facilitated by the GDL60 transfers engine and other data upon landing, allowing for deep analysis and trend monitoring.

Daher Growth

Daher continues its growth and expansion into the U.S. market as well as in France, with more strategic acquisitions in the past few months, including Assistance Aeronautique et Aerospatiale (AAA) in France to strengthen its industrial services proposition globally. 

“We want to grow the business. We want to grow the company,” said Didier Kayat, CEO of Daher. “The group altogether will be at 1.8 billion next year—1.7 billion this year—with half of the business as manufacturing and half of the business as services. We need to become more international—we did the grand opening of our new headquarters in the U.S. in February, and we need to innovate in order to decarbonize, because it’s becoming more and more important.”

In this vein, Daher presented its EcoPulse hybrid-electric technology demonstrator at the Paris Air Show in June.

The post Daher Celebrates Milestone TBM Deliveries, Kodiak Success appeared first on FLYING Magazine.

The agency took delivery of the turboprop on Wednesday at the Airborne Public Safety Association’s annual convention in Orlando, Florida.

“As North Carolina’s motto is ‘First in Flight,’ it’s extremely appropriate that the state’s forest service is the initial operator of this latest upgrade for the Kodiak 100,” said Nicolas Chabbert, senior vice president of Daher’s Aircraft Division.

According to Daher, the NCFS will utilize its Kodiak 100 as a “load aircraft” to carry “equipment and supplies to operational locations in support of aerial tankers in the wildfire suppression role.”

The Kodiak 100 was designed to be a multimission workhorse, capable of applications that range from wildfire suppression, the monitoring of national resources and the protection of public safety to humanitarian services and surveillance and reconnaissance duties.

About the Kodiak 100

The Daher Kodiak 100 is the first to be delivered with the composite five-blade propeller configuration from Hartzell Propeller. Created for use on the Kodiak 100, the new design incorporates Hartzell’s lightweight Raptor propeller hub technology. According to Hartzell, the entire unit weighs 13 pounds, which is less than the Kodiak 100’s current four-blade metal propeller. This reduces the aircraft’s takeoff roll by 6 percent at maximum gross weight. The propeller time and warranty between overhaul is 4,000 hours or six years.

“We welcome the Kodiak 100 to the family of aircraft equipped with our five-blade composite propeller, joining Daher’s Kodiak 900 and the TBM 960,” said Hartzell president JJ Frigge. “Hartzell has been producing composite blades since 1978, which are made with a structural carbon fiber that offers superior strength, damage resistance, and reparability.”

Propeller specs

The five-blade composite propeller features a durable nickel-cobalt leading edge, a nickel erosion screen for foreign object damage protection, urethane paint for improved erosion protection, and the use of aerospace-grade carbon fiber.

The propeller diameter of 96 inches gives it a ground clearance of 16.4 inches, retaining the Kodiak 100’s ability to operate from unimproved strips.

Paul Carelli, director of Kodiak flight operations and special missions, noted that of the more than 320 Kodiak 100s delivered to date, more than 90 are in service with multimission operators, logging an estimated 28,500 flight hours annually.

“With its enormous useful load, off-airport capabilities, and simple and rugged design, the Kodiak 100 is ideal for such a broad range of applications,” Carelli said. “In addition to the performance improvement with Hartzell’s five-blade composite propeller, the aircraft is extremely quiet.”

The new propeller is also quieter than the four-bladed models, turning at 2,000 rpm for maximum torque—which is 200 rpm slower than the current four-blade metal propeller.

According to the company, this slower rotation speed reduces vibration aboard the aircraft and lowers the Kodiak 100’s flyover noise below the European Union Aviation Safety Agency’s stringent 78 decibels. According to a decibel comparison chart from Electrical World, that’s about the same volume as a washing machine.

The post NC Forest Service Becomes First Operator of Multimission Kodiak 100 appeared first on FLYING Magazine.

In the case of the 900, it started within Quest—and a desire to meet a clear need for a larger cabin and faster cruise speed. But underlying that project was another, greater challenge—to bring together two teams that not only differed on engineering mission but also in culture. The cranberry color of the airplane caused me to recall the Thanksgiving holiday I spent solo in Paris several years ago. I set out to recreate a handful of favorite dishes to mark the occasion. Finding a turkey leg to roast was easy—but for the life of me I could not find fresh cranberries with which to make sauce. But my dinner was far from ruined—I roasted chestnuts and had a tarte tatin for dessert, combining the best of my new locale and the heritage I brought with me.

That kind of solution feels fundamental to the successful marriage of two distinct—and strong-willed—traditions. A good result brings out the best of both, harmonizing the differences. And that helps us under-stand what had to come together to create the 900.

On a Mission

A collaboration of humanitarian organizations originally ponied up the money to launch Quest Aircraft in 2001, after founders Tom Hamilton and Dave Voetmann dreamed up the perfect turbine-powered mount to serve the mission community. Hamilton came from Stoddard-Hamilton Aircraft, building the Glasair and Glastar experimental/amateur-built singles, while Voetman hailed from missionary aviation—specifically Mission Aviation Fellowship. Voetman left Quest in 2010, but remained with the MAF, from which he recently retired after 62 years of service, both flying and volunteering.

• READ MORE: We Fly: Daher Kodiak 900

A town of less than 10,000 tucked into the pines at the top of Lake Pend Oreille in northern Idaho, Sandpoint might seem like an unusual place for aerospace development—it’s a resort town complete with restaurants, inns, wineries, taprooms, and a small sandy beach on the lakefront: quiet, remote, away from it all.

But it became home to that aerospace company called Quest, which purchased its original plant at Sandpoint’s municipal airport (KSZT), a 27,000-square-foot facility that would eventually expand to 84,000 square feet by the time the company was ready to ramp up production. The original Kodiak’s first flight took place in October 2004, and type certification on the utility starcame on May 31, 2007.

It took almost six years for Quest to go from delivering its first production unit in January 2008 to ticking over serial number 100 by the end of 2013. That slow ramp up served the company well. Since Sandpoint is not on any main thoroughfare, any buildup in personnel needed to take place incrementally.

EASA type certification came in April 2017,  just after Quest secured the ability to operate the Kodiak at night in IMC—critical for consistent commercial operations with the airplane. The original Kodiak 100 is certificated in more than 60 countries. The 900 gained FAA type certification in July, but as of press time was still waiting on the EASA sign-off.

Beginning in 2019, joining Daher and Quest, leadership has been critical to the process. Collaboration was already part of Daher’s way of doing business, as evidenced by the transoceanic cooperation between the OEM and suppliers such as Pratt & Whitney. Chabbert joined Nicholas Kanellias, vice president of general aviation for Pratt & Whitney, as they opened up the cowl to show off the PT6E-66XT at Sun ‘n Fun Aerospace Expo last year, and it was the same at the unveiling of the new PT6A-140A at Oshkosh. The pair demonstrated the symbiotic relationship between airframe OEM and engine manufacturer, working through design, supply chain constraints, and other challenges together.

The Next Kodiak

Back in 2014, when FLYING flew the Quest Kodiak around south Florida, there was little indication the company was interested in fielding a larger model, other than the fact it made total sense. But it turns out that there was definitely something in the works.

Brown recalls the initial conversations at Quest,which began in 2015, “brainstorming, drawing on napkins if you will.” In 2016, the project was funded and started moving forward in earnest. “At that time it was not what you see today,” said Brown. “It was all about ‘how can we make the Kodiak faster?’” The company had had the original Kodiak and its incremental evolutions on the market for nine years when the project started. “We always felt like there was room in the market for a new airplane,” said Brown. “There was a hole in the market… [and the need for] a bit more room—but the big thing was speed.” The target? A 200-kt-plus true airspeed,

The Kodiak 100’s primary competition—the Cessna Grand Caravan and the Pilatus PC-12—boast of more room but also higher price tags. True to its roots as a cost-conscious problem-solver for utility and humanitarian markets, Quest sought to keep the airplane in the $3 million range, yet retain its excellent off-airport capabilities. Plus, it needed to hold 3,300 to 3,500 pounds of cargo and people. “That was the blue space that we were after in the market,” said Brown.

• We Fly the Daher Kodiak 900, Ready for Grand Adventures

“We needed to break into what we considered to be special missions and commercial operators,” such as fleet-type sales used in Part 135 operations. “We thought we knew the answer” to the model differentiation, but no one in the market really knew about the 900 until the big reveal at Oshkosh, and at the show, there were some good surprises.

As Chabbert noted in our interview, “people were so excited to see an aircraft in this class, to cross the 200-knot [line], that they just came with their checkbooks and said ‘we want to order it.’” Indeed: The company sold out of its 2023 production slots by the end of the show.

Bringing Plans to Fruition

Translating the new model into production and first deliveries—slated for the first half of 2023—isn’t like flipping a switch. When I walk a production line at a general aviation manufacturer, I’m always struck by the hundreds of small elements that must come into the process at just the right point. In a smaller company, producing only a couple dozen units each year, it may feel like there’s more room for variation in when each component comes together, but anyone who has built even one airplane in their garage knows there are certain things that must happen in sequence.

It’s a highly intricate puzzle to solve—and it’s compounded if a manufacturer chooses to build more than one model on the same line. Daher has done this successfully for many years with the TBM series, and now the company works toward the same integration of the 900 within the 100 line as much as makes sense. The plan optimizes efficiency from the commonality of parts, including the wing, empennage, much of the fuselage, and the flight deck. “We knew we wanted to keep a lot of Kodiak 100 parts,” said Brown. The parts commonality is anticipated to drive efficiencies in production, as well as for fleet operators using both models.

But the integration involves a few points of differentiation that happen at the joining of the fuselage itself, the fuselage to the gear, and the engine hang and cowling stations. Two plugs in the fuselage stretch the 100 into the 900, and add a little more than four feet in exterior length, boosting cabin length by three and a half feet. “We knew that a commercial airline or special missions operator, that cost of operation would be very important to them. The Kodiak was already known for that, so we didn’t want to make this more complicated. And we were actually able to redesign quite a bit to make it less complicated, more maintainable.”

Initial production units are coming together on the same line as the 100, but will eventually command their own line, if production reaches a certain volume, according to Brown. And that’s a goal that feels very achievable, given the model’s success right off of the line.

A Green Future… Now

Throughout the 2022 promotion of its new turboprop models, Daher has focused on the efficiency and economy of the series updates—building on an already solid foundation. 

The company reported at NBAA-BACE that it was working to provide sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) to all aircraft operating from the plant—building the infrastructure now so that aircraft flying out of the Tarbes base will be fueled with SAF as of late October, using a blend of SAF and jet-A as was available from partner World Fuel Services. “The path is quite clear for us,” said Didier Kayat, CEO of Daher, during a press conference at NBAA-BACE. But to have a wider use of SAF, Daher would need to have more visibility about SAF policy by fuel suppliers in terms of blending, pricing, and availability. The sourcing of SAF isn’t a straight forward problem, as supplies globally remain limited—in 2021, only 1/1000th of the total volume needed was actually produced. According to a report by the International Air Transportation Association (IATA) in early December, roughly 300 million liters of SAF were produced in 2022, with a path for the industry to produce 5 billion liters by 2025, and 30 billion liters by 2030.

That may sound like a lot of fuel sloshing around in the tanks, but, IATA said, “Airlines are committed to achieve net zero CO2 emissions by 2050 and see SAF as a key contributor. Current estimates expect SAF to account for 65 percent of the mitigation needed for this, requiring a production capacity of 450 billion liters annually in 2050.”

Airlines in the European Union are operating towards the requirement that they uplift 5 percent SAF at every European airport by 2030.

Answering the recent eruptions of climate change protests in France and around Europe, the trio of Daher, Dassault, and Airbus appears to be working together both on real efforts to innovate in sustainable directions and getting that message out to the general public.

Daher has integrated environmental concerns into its Me and My TBM application to assist its pilot-owners with operating in the most efficient manner. The scores generated by pilots include an “eco-ranking,” “because we do consider that we need to goto a decarbonization for oursector,” said Kayat, and the company is fully committed to achieving the net-zero carbon emissions standard by 2050.

EcoPulse Progress

The partnership with Safran and Airbus to develop the EcoPulse demonstrator—taking a TBM airframe and seeking to power it electrically—continues on track. Kayat reported that high-voltage testing was underway with the EcoPulse at Daher’s facilities. “We are learning a lot,” said Kayat. “We feel we need this first step of having a demonstrator before we can have a roadmap on products.”

The post Quest to Daher appeared first on FLYING Magazine.

Whether he meant it to become a catchphrase or not, when Nicolas Chabbert, senior vice president of Daher’s Aircraft Division, talked of making real progress on sustainability through methodical increments that will be relevant and sellable to the market, he managed to encapsulate what so many in the industry have felt: We’re making our way towards sustainability with the quotidian work that the general aviation industry does with each more efficient aircraft—in Daher’s case, the TBM 960 and the Kodiak 900 and 100—better data monitoring and analysis, and the application of lessons learned.

Near-Term and Long-Term Goals

With sustainable aviation critical to keeping us in the air, several movements are underway that provide both near-term and long-range solutions. “For us, we believe that the future of aviation is going to lie in technology, and technology is going to have different aspects,” said Chabbert in Daher’s press conference at AERO 2023 in Friedrichshafen, Germany, on April 19.

• READ MORE: AERO Friedrichshafen Focuses on Sustainability, Single-Engine Turboprop Ops

The first step is one most manufacturers have embraced and operators are willing to adopt if they haven’t already done so—or had the chance—and that’s sustainable aviation fuel. “The planes that we have flown from Tarbes [for display at AERO] were both fueled with SAF,” he said. “We have the ability to use—on the field—the SAF, and that’s important for us that this adoption has been made.”

Adding to this is another near-term project, the EcoPulse demonstrator, a TBM airframe utilizing hybrid energy technology to test out various concepts using electric and traditional means of propulsion. Chabbert identified three main areas of focus during the testing: the choice of using the traditional means of energy or electric motorization in a given phase of flight, the storage of energy in fuel or batteries, and how that energy is distributed to the engines. 

The distribution element turns out to be a key part of the puzzle. “That is something that most of the people are forgetting,” said Chabbert. “It’s probably where technology is most critical today, and I gotta tell you that with all of the things that I’ve been able to monitor…a lot of the people that we’ve visited, I am surprised that we are discovering things ourselves that have not been disclosed by anyone—and distribution of energy is going to be one of the challenges to make technology available on our aircraft.”

“The plane is flying—it’s currently into a very thorough test flight campaign,” said Chabbert. “We are going to display the airplane at Paris Air Show, Le Bourget, and we are going to be able to fly [in] an electrical mode just after Le Bourget.”

Once Daher has completed part of the program—in conjunction with Airbus and Safran, the two partners on this demonstrator, “we will make some decisions, [and] we will take the time for the analysis,” concluded Chabbert. “So [then] we can specify what will be the first hybrid aircraft, which we intend to announce by the end of our middle-term plan, which will end in 2027.  We are committed to come with a real solution in the marketplace. 

“What you will see on the demonstrator is not what is going to be the product. That is the difference between what you demonstrate and what you are going to use. [We will take] those specifications, and come back with our different vendors and see who is going to be able to deliver what we need to put together in our one product solution.”

Kodiak 900 EASA Validation

This year’s AERO is also the European debut for two aircraft—though one has yet to make its way across the pond. The Kodiak 900, which debuted at EAA AirVenture 2022, had secured its validation on April 3 under the European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA), and Daher is set to deliver its first unit to a European customer this fall.

Chabbert identified the 900 as a great fit for the local market. “I have to say that this is the perfect aircraft for the German market. This is a King Air 350-sized cabin, and this is the aircraft that can not only take a lot of people, but it can safely fly IFR—and fast—to destinations that are short hops that are typical of a country such as Germany, but also looking at the landscape in Europe [in general].”

Watch: We Fly: Kodiak 100 In Training

The Kodiak 100 on display came over from the U.K. for the event, and Chabbert highlighted the updates that will be available to the 100 series. The first fits well in with Daher’s environmental message—a 5-blade composite Hartzell propeller that debuted at Sun ’n Fun Aerospace Expo last month. One of the biggest achievements for the new prop vis-à-vis the European market is its reduced noise signature, a full 6-plus decibels below the 4-blade prop. “The TBM 960 is at 76.9, the Kodiak 900 is at 78, so all those aircraft are in exactly the noise signature that is the lowest in the market,” said Chabbert.

The other is the upgrade path to the Garmin G1000 NXi, now available as both a new flight deck moving forward, and a retrofit kit.

Daher has delivered a total of 323 Kodiaks, with most orders to deliver in 2024 representing an even split between the 100 and the 900.

TBM 960 Completes a Year

The other aircraft to grace the display floor at AERO was F-HAHF, serial number 1409—the first production TBM 960. It’s been on a tour over in the U.S. as well as around Europe, and now gives the audience at Friedrichshafen the chance to see its new Pratt & Whitney PT6E-66XT up close.

But it’s what’s behind the powerplant that makes a big difference, and Daher has been learning a lot since the model’s introduction. It features the EPECS (engine and propeller electronic control system), which sends a bevy of engine data—including fault messages—to the avionics and in downloadable form.

“We have worked with Pratt & Whitney on almost predictive maintenance, and this is more or less a new field. We learn a lot—it was not easy to adjust—and I think there is still a lot we can do, but this defines the modern support for the fleet,” said Chabbert of the incredible amount of data to analyze.

Daher has delivered a total of 1,139 TBMs, with the TBM 900 series set to achieve delivery number 500 sometime in the late summer of 2023.

Me & MyTBM App

The final effort covered by Daher in its themes on sustainability and safety is the evolution of its pilot app, Me & MyTBM, into a means by which pilots can actually change their habitual patterns. What does this have to do with efficiency? That’s one aspect of the scoring used within the app’s challenge portion. But even more critical may be the app’s ability to connect the pilot with an instructor—and work towards safer operations, such as more stabilized approaches. “We can change—radically—aviation safety with data,” said Chabbert.

New features on the sixth version of the app—in the five years since its launch—include:

• Multiple pilot tracking per aircraft
• Flight-type qualification, to distinguish between training and passenger flights, for example
• Automatic download of data
• Tracking of flights with multiple landings
• An updated challenge summary, with a printout allowing for an instructor to validate and sign

A Real Tomorrow

“So this is definitely tomorrow,” said Chabbert, “but this is a real tomorrow, this is actual, this is not something which is presented on PowerPoint. You can come to Tarbes, you can see the demonstrator, you can see what we actually do.”

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Exploring the Kodiak’s key elements reveals what it would be like for you to sit in the left seat for this original take on the backcountry star—as part of FLYING’s We Fly series.

As instructors, we’ve all held the certificates for a long time, with me obtaining mine 30 years ago this week, in April 1993, Luy in 1994, and Chabbert about 25 years ago. We agreed that even though Chabbert and I no longer delivered instruction on a daily basis, we both still fully enjoyed the rewards of being able to continue teaching when the opportunity presented itself. To let go of our precious CFI cards would be too much to take, no matter the work we must go through to renew inside our jam-packed schedules. 

Want to fly along? 

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During the following media briefing, the news included important updates to all of Daher’s line—with some of the coolest news coming on the Kodiak 100 III. 

“We have a five-blade prop right here,” said Nicolas Chabbert, senior vice president of Daher’s Aircraft Division. “It’s missing the plane behind—at least we wanted to show the five-blade prop that is going to go on the Kodiak 100.” 

The Hartzell prop is a direct replacement for the four-blade prop currently found on the 100 series. The new configuration will drop the noise quotient on the airplane by 6.3 decibels—and it’s 13 pounds lighter than the current prop. And, not insignificantly, it promises to reduce takeoff roll by about 6 percent.

Daher also announced a Garmin G1000 NXi retrofit option for earlier Kodiak 100S models.

Leadership on Sustainability

Chabbert paired the safety mission in developing its line of four turboprop models—as well as a fifth application, if you count the 100 on floats—with an equally critical mission, “as you know, the environmental impacts. Obviously, with the TBM side, we’re a little bit more sensitive to what’s happening in Europe, and sometimes in America, we get to thinking that this is coming last—or not coming—but I had a chance to be in D.C. in February and look at the White House roadmap for sustainability. I think that this is coming.” He stressed the need to have workable solutions—and not just think that technology will leap ahead in time to meet the demands of the greater community. “We have to make a combination [of the two],” Chabbert concluded.

To this end, Daher has implemented sustainable aviation fuel in its fleet in Tarbes, and incorporated sustainability features in its Me&My TBM app. The company also plans to display its Eco-Pulse technology demonstrator—a project with Safran and Airbus to explore electric propulsion on the TBM airframe—at the Paris Air Show in June.

Response to the Kodiak 900

The 900 on display at Sun ’n Fun was the first customer aircraft delivered—and one of three test aircraft that have been built to date, also including a static test article for structural testing, and a flying prototype for flight testing. The display aircraft is the first conforming production model that served for airworthiness authority function and reliability testing, and has been sold to a private operator. 

The first full-production aircraft is scheduled to be delivered in May 2023, according to Daher, as it spends time ramping up its production in Sandpoint, Idaho, thoughtfully. “We have the airplanes that are starting to line up in Sandpoint, with three, four, five, that you can see in different stages of the manufacturing process,” said Chabbert. 

Development of the “King Air 350-sized” Kodiak 900 began in 2016. “We have strong booked orders composed of Kodiak 100 and 900 models,’’ said Chabbert. ‘‘All of the positions for the Kodiak 900 in 2023 have been taken, we actually have a good third of the orders that are also taken into 2024.”

A focus on making the Kodiak series more adaptable to its environment—and the sensitivities of the locations in which its operators fly—made for a theme in Chabbert’s update on both the 900 and 100. In particular, the propeller’s design and low 1,900 rpm setting contribute to the low noise level of 79.5 dB on the 900, allowing the aircraft to operate in more strictly regulated noise-sensitive areas.

A Record Year

“The TBM 960 has surpassed all previous sales records, confirming the capabilities of digital power for this latest high-end member of our TBM 900-series aircraft family,” Chabbert said. He confirmed the delivery of nearly 60 units of the new model since its debut at Sun ’n Fun last year, with most of those trekking across the pond to North American customers. Deliveries have also gone to customers in France, Germany, Switzerland, and the U.K.

This year’s model comes with software updates to the Garmin G3000 integrated flight deck up front, along with a control yoke-mounted actuator used to manage the Garmin electronic checklists, as well as a relocated altimeter setting button. The team went through a lot of testing to ensure the proper functionality of the checklist button in particular. Seemingly small things make a difference.

The TBM 960 is also quieter, with the prop turning at 1,925 rpm during maximum power, helping to limit noise and vibration. Its sound level during takeoff is 76.4 decibels, meeting the most stringent international noise standards, according to Daher.

Stepping Up to the TBM

Interested in what it takes to fly the very-fast turboprop? An educational forum session titled “Stepping up to the TBM 960” will be presented by Wayman Luy, director of training and standards for Daher’s Aircraft Division, and is scheduled at 1:00 p.m. on Wednesday, March 29, and Friday, March 31. Attendees will earn credit for the FAA’s WINGS pilot proficiency program. The forum sessions will be held in Room CFAA-08 of the Central Florida Aerospace Academy, 4141 Medulla Road, near the main entrance to the show.

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