French aircraft manufacturer and aerostructures company Daher is on hand in Singapore to showcase its increasingly popular TBM 900 turboprop single, and explain new enhancements such as enhanced envelope protection, improved warning identification and flight planning facilitation. They are part of Garmin G1000 avionics updates (V15).
Specifically, envelope monitoring has been added to the electronic stability and protection system (ESP), along with under-speed protection; new aural alerts for stall, overspeed, landing gear extension and oxygen mask use; an angle-of-attack sensor with cockpit visualization; and two-way wireless link-up from a mobile device that runs the Garmin Pilot application (uses Bluetooth connection and Garmin’s FlightStream 210 wireless gateway), so flight plans can be synced and GPS, weather, traffic and other information can be uploaded/downloaded. Finally, TBM is including an L-3 data recorder as standard equipment, and the Garmin GRA 55 radar altimeter is an optional extra.
Derived from the TBM 850–itself a variant of the original TBM 700–the new version was unveiled in 2014 after a three-year development program with 200 hours of flight-testing.
Now featuring more than 30 modifications from the TBM 850, the 330-knot TBM 900 is the fastest certified civilian single-engine turboprop. From the nose to the firewall, the aircraft has been redesigned to improve engine airflow circulation, through use of a banana-shaped air intake, carbon-fiber cowlings and new exhaust stacks. The new aircraft retains the Pratt & Whitney Canada PT6A-66D engine found on the TBM 850, as well as its Garmin G1000 avionics suite.
Today, the TBM 900 is the fastest-selling version in the history of the TBM series–with 105 sold and delivered in 21 months–including aircraft operating in the Asia-Pacific region.
To further solidify its presence in the region, Daher has relationships with two Singapore-based organizations: WingsOverAsia, an aviation concierge that delivers private/executive aircraft flight support and aviation lifestyle services; and Hawker Pacific Asia, the local TBM service center.
“We are well positioned to answer the region’s market expectations, and operators are in good hands with Daher’s worldwide network, which includes the Singapore locations for our partners WingsOverAsia and Hawker Pacific Asia,” said Nicolas Chabbert, senior v-p of Daher’s airplane business.
