Daher Begins TBM 960 Deliveries In U.S.

Daher has begun delivering its TBM 960 single-engine turboprop in the U.S. following the model’s recent certification by the FAA. According to the company, the first two TBM 960s for U.S. customers departed from Daher’s headquarters in Tarbes, France, on June 25 and traveled to TBM distributors Elliott Jets in Minneapolis, Minnesota, and AVEX in Camarillo, California, before being delivered to their owners. Daher reported that it has delivered more than 1,080 TBMs in twelve different versions to date, approximately 80 percent of which went to North American customers.

“I want to recognize the collaborative work of EASA and the FAA that resulted in the TBM 960’s certification,” said Nicolas Chabbert, Daher Aircraft Division senior vice president. “I also want to express my thanks to our U.S. customers for their patience during the certification process. We’ve had an exceptional response overall to the TBM 960 since its launch, with more than 60 orders now logged worldwide for this latest version.”

As previously reported by AVweb, Daher introduced the TBM 960 last April at the Sun ‘n Fun Aerospace Expo. The latest version of Daher’s TBM single-engine turboprop, the TBM 960 offers a range of 1,730 NM, top cruise speed of 330 knots and maximum payload of 1,400 pounds. The aircraft is powered by the Pratt & Whitney Canada PT6E-66XT engine, equipped with the Garmin G3000 integrated flight deck and features updates including a dual-channel digital engine and propeller electronic control system (EPECS).