Daher has unveiled the TBM 980 as the sixth and latest version of its TBM 900 turboprop single family.
Key differences include the new variant having Garmin 3000 Prime avionics, replacing the G3000 flightdeck on the prior TBM 960, and an optional SpaceX Starlink Mini terminal to give passengers satellite-based internet connectivity.
Revealed at its factory in Tarbes, Southwest France on 15 January, the six-seat variant has already received European and US certification, and the first two deliveries will be next week, according to Daher Aircraft chief executive Nicolas Chabbert.
According to Chabbert, more than 20 customers placed commitments for the TBM 980 despite not having details before today. “We were not pre-selling this aircraft but we had customers who said: ‘We don’t know what is next but here is our order’,” he says.
Daher will continue to offer the TBM 960 alongside the newer variant, at a lower price and also because some customers prefer the current G3000 flight deck, says Chabbert. The G3000 Prime cockpit will not be available as a retrofit, although operators of legacy TBMs will be able to install the Starlink terminal.
Industrial group Daher acquired the TBM product line in 2014 with chairman and chief executive Didier Kayat saying the latest launch “underscores our firm commitment to the airplane family’s evolution through the continual application of innovation”.
The Paris-based company also owns US utility aircraft manufacturer Kodiak.
The TBM 980’s G3000 Prime flightdeck features a 14in touchscreen, with Daher claiming “significant improvements in screen and image quality” and customisable presets will help reduce pilot workload. Among the changes, the checklist button is replaced with a four-position joystick for scrolling.
The Pratt & Whitney Canada PT6E-66XT-powered TBM 980 continues to include the Garmin-based HomeSafe emergency autoland system, introduced on the TBM 940, as well as the GWX 8000 all-digital radar and five-blade Hartzell composite propeller.
There have been at least eight iterations of the original TBM 700 since its introduction in 1990 by French airframer Socata. The TBM 850 was certificated in 2005 with the first 900-series aircraft, the TBM 900, approved in 2013. That was followed by the TBM 910, TBM 930, TBM 940 and TBM 960.
Chabbert also gave an update on Daher’s planned TBM and Kodiak assembly plant in Stuart, Florida, next to an aerostructures plant the company acquired from Triumph in 2022. Construction will begin “within months” with the “objective to start production some time in 2027”. Daher had earlier expressed a target of early next year for beginning assembly.
