Daher Marks Delivery Of 500th TBM 900-Series Turboprop

LAS VEGAS—French manufacturer Daher announced the delivery of it 500th TBM 900-series turboprop and the expansion of its Kodiak Aircraft Co. facility in Sandpoint, Idaho.

The 500th delivered airplane was to an owner in the U.S. of Daher’s latest-model TBM 960 turboprop single, bringing to 92 the number of 960s the manufacturer has delivered, with 100 more on order, executives said Oct. 16 at NBAA-BACE.

Daher unveiled the TBM 960 with purpose-built Pratt & Whitney Canada PT6E-66XT engine and Hartzell five-blade composite propeller at the Sun ‘n Fun conference in April 2022. It is the fifth iteration of the TBM 900 series, a configuration Daher introduced in 2014.

The family-owned French company acquired the former Quest Aircraft Co., manufacturer of the Kodiak utility aircraft, in 2019, and now builds Kodiak 100/900 series turboprops in Sandpoint, Idaho. At NBAA-BACE, Daher announced the opening of a 9,000-ft.² paint facility at Kodiak Aircraft, following a $2.7 million investment.

After acquiring Quest, Daher introduced the enhanced Kodiak 100 Series III in 2021 and the larger Kodiak 900 in July 2022. The manufacturer delivered its third Kodiak 900 this past July and expects to deliver the first aircraft to a European customer this fall, said Nicolas Chabbert, Daher senior vice president for Aircraft.

Daher now supplies 31 Part 135 charter operators in the U.S. with 49 Kodiak and TBM model turboprops, Chabbert said. The company employs 1,700 people in the U.S. and Canada.

The first electric-powered flight of the EcoPulse demonstrator, a modified TBM 900 with hybrid-electric powertrain, will be “in a couple weeks,” CEO Didier Kayat said. A joint effort of Daher, Airbus and Safran, the EcoPulse demonstrator made its public debut at the Paris Air Show in June. Daher plans to produce its first hybrid aircraft in 2027, Kayat said.

Much of Daher’s presentation and the questions from reporters that followed concerned the company’s outlook on sustainable aviation fuel (SAF). Daher uses a 50% SAF blend for its flight operations at Tarbes, France.

France’s GIFAS aerospace association estimates that SAF will be necessary for 40% of decarbonization by 2050, when the aviation industry has pledged to be carbon neutral, Kayat noted. “We know that being able to get the volume we need in order to become neutral in 2050, we’ll need a massive investment by energy companies,” he said. “It’s not in our hands.”