EASA, the European Union's aviation safety agency, has certified Daher's TBM 940 single-engine turboprop, allowing deliveries to begin in the coming days, the manufacturer announced at the European Business Aviation Convention & Exhibition (EBACE) in Geneva, Switzerland.
The TBM 940’s certification comes two months after the airplane’s launch in March. So far, 25 orders have been booked, with the first due to be handed over early next month. Initial deliveries will be to customers in Europe and Asia, followed by North America and other markets after FAA certification, which is expected soon.
“We are grateful to the EASA for the quick certification process following the hard work of our teams," said Nicolas Chabbert, senior vice president of Daher's Airplane Business Unit. “The European authorities consider it a priority to make major safety items available to the pilot."
The TBM 940, which replaces the TBM 930 in Daher's line-up and joins the TBM 910, features enhanced flight management, including autothrottle and an intuitive smart single-engine gauge. It is the world's first production turboprop under 12,500 pounds to be certified with autothrottle technology.
A new automated icing detection system and cabin enhancements are shared with Daher’s 2019 model year TBM 910, which features the Garmin G1000 NXi cockpit versus Garmin G3000 in the 940. Standard features of the avionics in both airplanes include Garmin Surface Watch, which helps the pilot maintain enhanced situational awareness in the airport environment; BaroVNAV, allowing approaches with vertical guidance when WAAS navigation is not available; and visual approach assistance pilots performing visual approaches to non-controlled airports with vertical guidance.
During this week’s EBACE event in Geneva, Daher also is highlighting its TBM Care concept, which brings additional enhancements to the TBM ownership and operating experience. “This is underscored by Daher’s latest version of its Me & My TBM cloud-based application, which enables pilots and operators to share their flight plan and performance directly through different media,” the company noted.
The application’s ergonomics and features are enhanced with the introduction of analysis modes allowing flight and time optimization, along with the aircraft’s landing approach, as well as new average block speed calculation and monitoring, Daher says. “With its highly accurate graphics, feedback is provided during every phase of a TBM’s flight, from key parameters of the engine and other systems to a full range of statistics accessible wherever the aircraft goes.”
