Daher delivers Europe's first TBM 930 to Rheinland Air Service

Aircraft Being Transferred At Ceremony At AERO Friedrichshafen Show In Germany.

Daher’s expanded TBM very fast turboprop aircraft product line takes center stage at the annual AERO Friedrichshafen show in Germany this week, where the first TBM 930 version for Europe is being delivered to Rheinland Air Service (RAS), the TBM Authorized Distributor in Austria and Germany.

The new TBM 930 incorporates further upgrades to its avionics suite, building on Daher’s achievements with the TBM 900 version – which is a confirmed business aviation success, delivering more than 110 aircraft since its launch two years ago.

Daher officially unveiled the TBM 930 on April 5 at Daher’s factory in Tarbes, France, along with its enhanced Model Year TBM 900.

“Our presence at AERO Friedrichshafen follows an outstanding welcome at the TBM 930’s unveiling in Tarbes, and immediately afterwards during the U.S. Sun ’n Fun International Fly-In Expo – where we presented the first TBM 930 in America,” explained Nicolas Chabbert, the Senior Vice President of Daher’s Airplane Business Unit. “The expansion of our product line already has shown its results in the European market: we have more TBM orders so far in 2016 from European customers than last year, and our sales team is expecting many potential buyers at the Friedrichshafen show.”

Chabbert said initial orders already have been booked for the TBM 930, with deliveries now underway for the aircraft, which is certified by the European EASA and U.S. FAA airworthiness authorities.

Johannes Graf von Schaesberg, Rheinland Air Service’s CEO, said the TBM product line is well suited to the transportation needs of European owner/operators, businesses and air taxi operations. Rheinland Air Service is located at Germany’s Düsseldorf Mönchengladbach Airport.

“With both the TBM 900 and the TBM 930, we now have an excellent product line for our customer base,” he added. “As the TBM fleet continues to grow in our coverage area of Germany and Austria – with 25 TBMs operated as of April this year – we also are expanding our services, which now include EASA-approved flight training in the TBM series to better serve our customers.”

Introducing the TBM 930 as the latest step in Daher’s very fast turboprop aircraft family evolution, this version integrates Garmin’s G3000 avionics suite – the first touchscreen-controlled glass flight deck ever designed for light turbine aircraft. Its cockpit instrument panel’s three wide-format WXGA displays can operate in a split-screen mode, enabling maps and flight plans to remain on the screen side-by-side with primary, traffic and weather information.

A new glass touchscreen controller serves as the pilot’s primary point of entry for the G3000 system, displaying communication and navigation controls. In addition, the G3000 avionics suite’s high resolution displays enhance the presentation of simulated 3-D perspective topography for Garmin’s SVT Synthetic Vision Technology.

In terms of aesthetics, Daher has developed an enhanced interior for the TBM 930 with redesigned seating and headrests, along with a new choice of wood or carbon finishes. For an additional touch of style, polished metal is used for handles, door sills and steps.

In addition to the TBM 930’s introduction, Daher has integrated the company’s e-copilot function on Model Year 2016 aircraft for both the TBM 900 and TBM 930 versions, incorporating the following systems and functionality for reduced pilot workload:

• A sensor and angle of attack (AOA) calculator, providing angle of attack information on the primary flight display;
• Electronic stabilization and protection systems (ESP) and Under Speed Protection (USP), which are connected to the AOA computer. These electronic monitoring and stability augmentation systems assist the pilot in maintaining the aircraft in a stable flight condition when flight parameters are exceeded;
• An emergency descent mode (EDM) in the autopilot, which places the aircraft in automatic descent to a safe altitude of 15,000-ft. in the event of cabin depressurization and lack of pilot response; and
• New voice alerts – providing notification on stall, overspeed, landing gear status and oxygen mask use – which replace aural sounds for better warning identification.

With the TBM product line expansion, distinguishing differences between the TBM 900 and TBM 930 are concentrated on their primary avionics.

Daher’s Model Year 2016 TBM 900 retains the liquid crystal displays with Garmin’s G1000 avionics system – incorporating a pair of 10-inch screens and a multifunction display sized at 15 inches, along with a physical keyboard for navigation and communication functions.

New this year is the TBM 900’s Bluetooth FS 210 connection system, which enables the use of a tablet or smartphone to prepare maps and flight plans.