U.S. Deliveries of Daher’s TBM 960 Commence

Daher recently began deliveries of its TBM 960 to U.S. customers, following FAA approval on June 24. Daher handed over the first-ever TBM 960 in late April to a German customer. The initial two TBM 960s for U.S. customers departed June 25 from the company’s aircraft division headquarters in Tarbes, France, and flew to separate TBM-authorized distributors—Elliott Jets in Minneapolis and Avex at California’s Camarillo Airport—for the handovers to their owners.

According to  Nicolas Chabbert, the senior vice president of Daher’s aircraft division, the long-distance delivery flights from Europe to the U.S. were a good opportunity to highlight the TBM 960’s digital systems, which include a dual-channel digital engine and propeller electronic control system. Emphasizing the importance of the U.S. market, he said that more than 80 percent of the nearly 1,100 TBMs delivered to date have gone to North American customers, a majority of which are in the U.S.