First Asian Daher TBM 930 enters service

Daher announced the service entry of the initial TBM 930 based in Asia. It was delivered in December to Anutin Charnvirakul, who previously owned a TBM 850 version of Daher’s very fast turboprop aircraft family.

The new TBM 930 was ferried by Charnvirakul from Daher’s Tarbes, France production facility to Bangkok in December, departing from Europe after a ritual Thai Buddhist blessing. Charnvirakul’s 5,914-naut. mi. ferry flight involved stopovers in Corfu (Greece), Aqaba (Jordan), Fujairah (United Arab Emirates) and Nagpur (India). The trip’s average cruise speed was 277.5 kts., and the fuel consumption averaged 41.6 gallons per hour.

“I very much enjoyed my previous TBM 850 for its versatility and flexibility,” Charnvirakul explained. “When the time came to replace it after four years and some 900 flight hours, I chose the latest TBM model: the TBM 930. My ferry flight confirmed that I made the right decision: this is the TBM at its best in terms of performance, state-of-the-art avionics and the handling.”

Shortly after the TBM 930 received its Certificate of Airworthiness from The Civil Aviation Authority of Thailand, Charnvirakul performed the maiden operational flight as a volunteer to deliver a heart transplant for the Thai Red Cross organization.

An active pilot, Charnvirakul is a well-known personality in Thailand. He was a former Deputy Minister of Public Health and Commerce, and is the current leader of the country’s Bhumjaithai Party.

On the business side, Charnvirakul is Chairman of STP&I Public Company Limited, and the developer of Rancho Charnvee – the first golf course in Thailand’s Khao Yai mountain region, which has a 3,929-ft. (1,200-meter) landing strip that is open to general aviation traffic.

“We congratulate Anutin Charnvirakul for being the first to operate the TBM 930 in Asia,” said Nicolas Chabbert, the Senior Vice President of Daher’s Airplane Entry in service of the first Asian Daher TBM 930– 2017 Business Unit. “We’re particularly honored by his renewed confidence in our TBM very fast turboprop’s quality and performance.”