At a news conference at Sun ‘n Fun Aerospace Expo 2024, Nicolas Chabbert, senior vice president of Daher’s Aircraft Division said the strained production has resulted in two-year backlogs for both the Kodiak and TBM lines of high-performance turboprops.

“We would like it to be about a year,” he said. He said sourcing and acquiring the correct parts is a daily challenge for the company, but it is improving and the company has been steadily producing aircraft. It delivered 56 TBMs and 18 Kodiaks last year and is targeting delivering at least 60 TBMs and 25 Kodiaks in 2024.

• READ MORE: Daher Delivers 74 Aircraft During 2023, Reports Orders for 100 More

Meanwhile, the company has added some safety enhancements to its flagship TBM 960 by adding systems to detect unresponsive pilots. If the pilot doesn’t interact with the aircraft or controls in some way in a 30-minute span a voice annunciation sounds. It will try twice more to rouse the pilot before activating the autoland system.

It also added lights to indicate if the yaw damper has been activated, a “check gear” light and a “propeller abort” if the propeller isn’t correctly configured for takeoff. It’s also added 3D SafeTaxi and runway occupancy alert. A nosegear-mounted taxiing light has also been added.

Editor’s Note: This article first appeared on AVweb.

The post Amid Supply Chain Challenges, Daher Hopes to Boost Production appeared first on FLYING Magazine.

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.

“My home base is near Santa Maria on California’s central coast, which has very limited commercial airline service, so having a personal airplane is extremely valuable as I continue to develop my business,” Kaseff said. “When I decided to upgrade from a piston-engine airplane to a high-performance aircraft, I searched the market and found that the TBM 960 was the best choice for me.”

Daher launched the TBM 960 at the Sun ’n Fun Aerospace Expo in April 2022. The model represents the fifth generation of the company’s TBM 900 series. Daher has delivered more than 500 TBM 900 series turboprops to date.

• READ MORE: We Fly: Daher TBM 960

“We are particularly proud that the 100th TBM 960 has been received by a newcomer to the TBM community,” said Daher Aircraft Division senior vice president Nicolas Chabbert. “It confirms that the TBM 960 is the quintessential TBM—meeting the expectations of entrepreneurs like Kevin Kaseff, who require a safe and efficient individual transportation tool.”

Powered by the Pratt & Whitney Canada PT6E-66XT engine, the model offers a top cruise speed of 330 knots, 1,730 nm range, and maximum payload of 1,446 pounds. The engine, along with the aircraft’s Hartzell five-blade composite propeller, links to a dual-channel digital engine and propeller electronic control system (EPECS).

The 960 also features an icing protection system, flight envelope monitoring via the electronic stability and protection (ESP) and under speed protection (USP) systems, emergency descent mode (EDM), and HomeSafe emergency autoland system. The model can seat up to six and comes equipped with the Garmin G3000 integrated flight deck.

The post Daher Delivers 100th TBM 960 appeared first on FLYING Magazine.

TBM 900-series aircraft are the best selling single-engine turboprops in the 33-year history of the TBM 700 program. Total deliveries now exceed all the previous TBM 700- and TBM 800-series aircraft produced from 1990 to 2014. Daher has a 100-plus aircraft backlog for TBM 960, representing more than two years of production.

Nicolas Chabbert, senior vice president  of Daher’s aircraft division, says that the firm constantly looks for product improvements, seeks to enhance operational efficiency, and listens to customers’ concerns. “We are constantly listening to our customers feedback,” said Chabbert in a press briefing at the National Business Aviation Association’s Business Aviation Conference and Expo, “and thanks to our major suppliers and any of the vendors that are following this program, we are in constant evolution, and we are able to make step changes on the aircraft—some are minor, some are major,” like the Pratt & Whitney PT6E-66XT on the TBM 960.

To this end, TBM 900-series aircraft incorporate several aero upgrades, including a ram recovery engine air inlet that boosts power output in climb and cruise, stability enhancements, winglets to cut induced drag, and a Hartzell five-blade scimitar prop that improves takeoff performance and reduces noise.

The TBM 960 is powered by a 850 shp, EPECS (FADEC)-equipped PT6E-66XT that provides carefree handling by means of a single power lever that controls both prop and engine. Chabbert quipped in the briefing that no longer can jet operators boast that turbofan aircraft are easier to fly than turboprops. “A lot of our customers—as you can see, 92 of them—are super happy to have this edition, which basically makes them equal to all of their friends who are flying jets,” said Chabbert. “So now, turboprops first!” The 960’s touchscreen GTC-controlled Garmin G3000 avionics system features an autothrottle, upset recovery function, emergency descent mode, and HomeSafe emergency safe return auto landing system.

TBM Speed, Efficiency—and SAF

Top speed is 330 ktas, endowing the TBM 960 with light jet-like block times on everyday 300 nm missions, but with 40- to 50-percent fuel savings. Daher is striving to provide sustainable aviation solutions, including starting flight tests of its Ecopulse TBM hybrid-electric aircraft, developed jointly with Airbus and Safran, in 2024. Chabbert also is a strong proponent of switching from fossil-based jet fuel to sustainable aviation fuel as the most promising short-term means of achieving zero net aircraft emissions by 2050. 

“We need people to invest and to trust the future and to make that aviation fuel available on a large scale,” said Chabbert. “We just cannot go neutral on a very small portion; we need major investment from petroleum companies first but we also have to have all of the users adopt SAF—this is the key to success.”

The post TBM 900 Series Marks 500 Deliveries for Daher 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.

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.”

The post ‘We Need to Fly Aircraft—We Don’t Fly PowerPoints’ appeared first on FLYING Magazine.

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.

The post Daher Shows Off Kodiak 900, 100 & New TBM 960 Styles appeared first on FLYING Magazine.

The selections within the pool for buyers offer well-targeted capability and niche design—and the segment continues to attract new entrants from the original equipment manufacturers specializing in these mounts. Daher has led the way in 2022, with the introduction of two new models to its portfolio, the autoland-capable TBM 960 (successor to the 940) and the Kodiak 900, a serious reimagining of the backcountry hauler into a much faster baby. The 900 provides a different flavor of competition for the Cessna Grand Caravan EX—though the classic from Textron Aviation still comes in lower on price point, and you can’t put a 900 on floats—yet. Stay tuned.

Updates from Epic on the E1000 GX preserve speed while upgrading the useful load: You can pack in five adults, a show’s worth of bags, and full fuel—and stay under the maximum takeoff weight of 8,000 pounds. The Pilatus PC-12 NGX is sold out well into 2024, proving the endurance of that model’s attraction—and the M600/SLS Halo (also with autoland) and the M500 from Piper offer an easy step up from high-performance piston singles and twins.

On the multiengine side, Textron Aviation added the Cessna SkyCourier officially to its lineup in 2022, redefining the top end of its twin-turboprop product line. Deliveries to launch customer FedEx started earlier this year in the freighter version, while a passenger model seats up to 19 people. 

Turboprop sales suffered a bit from the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, falling from 525 deliveries in 2019 to 443 in 2020, with a rebound to 527 in 2021. The year thus far portends a return to rosy skies for the segment: Through June 2022, GA turboprop manufacturers reported 247 shipments with projections for an even stronger second half of the year. That runs counter to many years, when fourth quarter sales soften. However, lease rates on aircraft also tend to become more favorable at year end, and may combine in 2022 with a bump in sales closings in December when the U.S. faces a potential loss of recent tax advantages on aircraft purchases—as long as rising interest rates don’t spoil the party.

According to Lou Seno, chairman emeritus of Jet Support Services, a provider of hourly cost maintenance programs for aircraft engines and airframes, this could have a real effect on the last quarter. “In 2023, we go back to the regular depreciation schedule,” says Seno, as the bonus depreciation schedules implemented for aircraft placed in service after September 27, 2017, and before January 1, 2023, are no longer available—unless there is an extension granted to the IRS code.

For those owner-pilots and businesses looking to add a capable turboprop like a Beechcraft King Air 360 as a capital investment this year, the timing may be just right—if they have an order in or can negotiate a place in line. Most manufacturers are taking positions well into next year—or the year after.

Single-Engine Turboprop

Multiengine Turboprop

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While the company registered many of the same supply chain challenges that have plagued the aviation industry as a whole, those obstacles were surmounted by the team’s efforts.

• READ MORE: We Fly: Daher TBM 960

“Last year’s business performance benefitted from the dedicated efforts of our production, delivery, and sales teams on both sides of the Atlantic, along with our firm engagement to deal with the aviation industry’s continued supply chain challenges and employment shortages,” said Nicolas Chabbert, senior vice president of Daher’s Aircraft Division, in a statement.

Chabbert also credited the introduction of the FAA- and EASA-certificated TBM 960 and FAA-blessed Kodiak 900 with “energizing” sales for the next two years. FLYING demoed the TBM 960 for its Q3 issue last year—and the Kodiak 900 is featured in our next “We Fly” report in Issue 934, currently on its way to subscribers.

Market Segments 

North America continues to be the strongest market for Daher’s sales in the TBM line, with 40 units going to those customers in 2022, followed by 11 deliveries to clients in Europe. The remainder of the 56 total 960s delivered went elsewhere globally.

The Kodiak series totalled 17 deliveries to a blend of corporate flight departments, private owners, and special missions operators in North America, and one unit to a European customer. One Kodiak 900 was delivered within the total, marking the debut for the new model.

Official delivery numbers for the industry will be disclosed in the upcoming 2022 report from the General Aviation Manufacturers Association on February 22.

A New Base

Daher inaugurated a new U.S. headquarters in Ft. Lauderdale, Florida, in late January, strengthening its position as a global aerospace firm. The move consolidates the company’s administrative and management functions into a single Florida base located near its TBM and Kodiak service facility in Pompano Beach (KPMP), as well as its newly acquired aerostructures plant in Stuart (KSUA). 

• READ MORE: Swiss Pilot Takes the Next TBM 960

From the new location—convenient to both the Ft. Lauderdale (KFLL) and Miami International (KMIA) airports—Daher expects to expand further into the North American market not only in aircraft and aerostructures manufacturing but also logistics and services.

The post Daher Posts Strong 2022 Deliveries appeared first on FLYING Magazine.

Case in point? A recent December delivery at Daher Aircraft in Tarbes, France, for TBM owner Paolo Buzzi, who took possession of a TBM 960 that upgrades him from the pre-owned TBM 930 he flew around the world in 2018. The 960 represents new territory for Buzzi, who noted the five-year warranty granted with a new model, as well as the HomeSafe Autoland capability of interest to his spouse.

• READ MORE: We Fly: Daher TBM 960

Fast—and Efficient

Facilitated by sales agent SwissFly Aero, based in Zurich, the transaction brings the number of TBMs in Switzerland to an even dozen. Daher markets the single-engine turboprop—with its flat-rated 850 hp Pratt & Whitney PT6E-66XT powerplant—as a fast yet efficient way to go direct between airports in the European Union.

“We thank Paolo Buzzi for his loyalty to the TBM, and we wish him all the best for the long-duration trips that he is planning with his brand new TBM 960,” said Nicolas Chabbert, senior vice president of Daher’s Aircraft Division. “His choice underscores how the TBM is perfectly tailored to the general aviation market in Switzerland, offering fast and direct transportation to most European capitals, and enabling operations from smaller airports.” 

Buzzi flew his TBM 930 around the world with Air Journey, covering 25,824 nm over the course of 108 flight hours. He plans to take the 960 on another trip to the other side of the planet—to New Zealand. 

The addition to the Daher lineup of turboprops came earlier this year, with EASA certification on the 960 in March, and FAA certification on June 24. Daher also arrived at EAA AirVenture with the FAA TC on the Kodiak 900 in hand.

• READ MORE: First Flights, Including the Kodiak 100 and 900

The Year-End Market

As we tick down the last two weeks of 2022, OEMs across the general aviation space race to complete final deliveries amidst an aircraft market landscape that at times appears dichotomous—is this a recession or not? It appears that the Feds bumping up the interest rate by a moderate amount last week hasn’t yet registered in terms of cooled-down demand for turboprops and jets, as far as those brokers and agents that FLYING has spoken with as the year closes. 

If anything, those pilot-owners—both current and new to GA—seek to leverage the asset more fully, with tools from shared ownership to empty-leg fulfillment.

• READ MORE: Moove Makes Its Play Into the U.S. Market

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