Daher’s TBM 930 makes its mark in the charter sector

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Turboprop Aircraft - DAHER TBM 960, TBM 910

Daher’s TBM 930 makes its mark in the charter sector
Daher’s TBM 930 makes its mark in the charter sector
2018 Published on 

Daher’s TBM 930 makes its mark in the charter sector

Orlando, Florida, USA, October 15, 2018 – The growing use of Daher’s TBM very fast turboprop aircraft in charter services is being highlighted at this week’s 2018 NBAA-BACE Business Aviation Convention and Exhibition, where the first operator of a TBM 930 for commercial flights was the invited headliner.

During a press conference at the annual NBAA-BACE meeting in Orlando, Florida, Mountain Lion Aviation was introduced as the initial TBM 930 user for charters, benefitting from the speed, comfort, efficiency and operational capabilities of this top-line version in Daher’s TBM 900-series aircraft family.

Since acquiring the TBM930 last year, Mountain Lion Aviation has built up an impressive volume of services with the aircraft – flying 430 hours on 300 commercial flights that carried a total of 475 passengers.

Mountain Lion Aviation is based at California’s Truckee Tahoe airport (KTRK) and was created as both a charter operator and flight school. Its location in the Sierra Nevada Mountains near Lake Tahoe places the company at a hub for technology-sector executives, entrepreneurs, business owners and other professionals who live, visit, or own a second home in the Truckee-Tahoe region – a popular destination on the border of California and Nevada.

With the TBM 930’s introduction into its fleet, Mountain Lion Aviation is offering personal transportation tailored to a high-value customer base seeking quality transportation that saves time and avoids California’s notorious traffic-clogged roads.

“We salute the TBM 930’s successful charter introduction by Mountain Lion Aviation, which has accumulated an impressive first year of activity,” commented Nicolas Chabbert, Senior Vice President of the Daher Airplane Business Unit, and President of Daher Aircraft. “This is a clear indication that our very fast turboprop has an important role to play in the point-to-point air charter market.”

Chabbert added that the increasing use of digital solutions – including expertise provided from the Daher parent company, combined with the TBM’s operating cost efficiency – provide the tools for charter operators to greatly expand their customer base.

“Most of our flying activity is on-demand for elite business leaders, and the TBM 930 is the perfect aircraft for these missions.” Mountain Lion Aviation CEO Jim Wilkinson

Daher’s TBM aircraft family responds to the expanding use of single-engine turboprop aircraft in air charters. In addition to U.S. commercial services, where numerous TBMs currently are employed for charters performed under FAA Part 135 certification, they are expanding worldwide – including Europe, which last year approved such operations with pressurized single-engine turboprops.

Many of the TBMs in commercial service worldwide today are earlier-production aircraft. Mountain Lion Aviation’s use of the TBM 930 demonstrates the ability of operators to employ Daher’s latest versions – the TBM 930 and TBM 910 – in profitable charter services.

“The TBM 930 is a unique aircraft: fast and cost-efficient, perfect for our activity, which we describe as being a ‘mobility solution’ provider – with full transportation services from door-to-door,” explained Mountain Lion Aviation CEO Jim Wilkinson. “Most of our flying activity is on-demand for elite business leaders, and the TBM 930 is the perfect aircraft for these missions.”

About Daher’s TBM very fast turboprop aircraft

www.tbm.aero

The TBM 910 and TBM 930 are the latest members in Daher’s TBM family of very fast single-engine turboprop aircraft. Differences between the two models are concentrated on their primary avionics: Garmin’s G1000 NXi avionics system with physical keypad for the TBM 910; Garmin’s G3000 with touchscreen controller for the TBM 930.

The Model Year 2018 TBM 930 introduces new functionality for its G3000 integrated flight deck, such as SurfaceWatch™ – providing aural and visual alerts for pilots’ enhanced situational awareness in the airport environment. Other new features are a Baro-VNAV approach and a Visual Approach guidance mode. Connectivity also is improved with the FS510 system that streams flight information to mobile devices via Wi-Fi.

Passenger comfort is enhanced on both Model Year 2018 TBM 930s and TBM 910s, including four USB ports, electrically-heated seats and a new coat rack.

In addition, Daher developed the Me & My TBM app, available on iOS and Android, enabling TBM operators to monitor their aircraft via its technical direct status and detailed flight analysis from engine start to shut-down.

Both the TBM 930 and TBM 910 offer superior performance – a maximum cruise speed of 330 kts. – and high efficiency with a 1,730-naut. mi. maximum range and a fuel consumption at economy cruise of 37 U.S. gallons per hour. This results from aerodynamic improvements, along with other aircraft enhancements. The maximum range and useful load, as well as the ability to land at small airports, are some of the customers’ favorite features.

As of today, a total of 910 TBM aircraft have been delivered to international owners and operators, with the global fleet accumulating some 1.6 million flight hours. TBM 900-series aircraft already have received 266 orders since their launch, with 248 delivered through October 1, 2018. They are built by Daher on its industrial site at the airport of Tarbes-Lourdes-Pyrénées (Hautes Pyrénées), France.

About Daher

www.daher.com

Daher is an aircraft manufacturer and service maker. Daher asserts its expertise in 3 main businesses – aircraft manufacturing, aerospace equipment and systems, logistics and services – and achieved a turnover of 1.1 billion euros in 2017. With the stability provided by its family ownership, Daher has been committed to innovation since its creation in 1863. Today, present in 11 countries, Daher is a leader in the industry 4.0, designing and developing value-added solutions for its industrial partners.

Contact for the media: Daher Airplane Business Unit

Philippe de Segovia
e-mail: p.de-segovia@daher.com
Tel: +33 (0)6 70 21 70 47