Daher-Socata salutes Mr. Wei Chen on his return from around the world trip in TBM 700 | Press Release

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Press Release

Issued by Daher Aerospace.

July 25, 2011

Daher-Socata salutes Mr. Wei Chen on his return from around the world trip in TBM 700

Daher-Socata welcomes today the pilot of a TBM 700A which is the first single-engine aircraft ever authorized to fly from Hong-Kong to Beijing, China capital, via Changsha, Xi'an, then to Beijing. A 1,200 Nm trip which is symbolic of the introduction of General Aviation in China.

The pilot-owner of this plane, Mr. Wei Chen, a Chinese citizen living in Memphis, TN, accomplished this flight as a part of a 10-weeks trip around the world, the first round the world flight for a Chinese pilot, with stopovers in 40 cities and 21 countries. Mr. Chen left Memphis on May 22nd, and expected to be back home in August. A flight supported by several organizations such as Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association (AOPA) and Greater Memphis United Chinese Association (GMUCA).

His goals are to raise money for Memphis' St. Jude Children's Research Hospital, as well as to promote General Aviation in China and to strengthen U.S.-China relationships. Mr. Wei Chen achieved some firsts.

- 1st Chinese pilot fo fly around the world

- 1st Chinese private pilot to be approved to fly across China in a GA plane

- 1st Chinese pilot to land a single-engine plane at Beijing Capital International airport

"The flight of Mr. Wei Chen from Hong-Kong to Beijing is an historical flight. We're proud he chose the TBM 700 to accomplish this aviation first." commented Nicolas Chabbert, Senior Vice-President of Daher-Socata's Airplane division. " We expect this flight to be a sign of general aviation development in China." He added.

"Flying around the world an airplane such as the TBM 700 is the easy part of my project. The biggest challenge being to get approvals from authorities. Fortunately, I received significant help from AOPA-China and support from the Chinese government." Replied Wei Chen.

Mr. Chen, owner of Memphis-based steel trading company specializing in business between the United States and China, came to the United States in 1996 to earn an MBA at Memphis University. He started learning to fly in 2007.

The TBM 700, and its successor the TBM 850, are fast single-engine turboprop. They combines cruise speeds and travel times typical of light jets with the economical direct operating costs of a turboprop, along with excellent range and payload capacity. The combined TBM 700 and TBM 850 fleet stands at 558 units worldwide as of July 15, 2011 and has reached 868,447 flight hours.