Press Release

Issued by Daher Aerospace.

October 9, 2011

DAHER-SOCATA is exhibiting its TBM 850 very fast turboprop at the National Business Aviation Association's 64th Annual Meeting & Convention this week, where the aircraft is making a debut appearance in Las Vegas.

Much of the focus at NBAA's 2011 event is on the use of the light business airplanes such as the TBM 850 to meet rapid business transportation needs in today's challenging economic environment.

The NBAA is even having sessions dedicated to light business airplane owners/operators to help them maximize their efficiency and productivity.

"Our TBM 850 very fast turboprop's debut appearance in the city of Las Vegas delivers a 'closer to the point' message, and is a good way to highlight its role as a highly productive transportation tool for a company," said Nicolas Chabbert, the President of SOCATA North America. "The TBM 850's unique performance-to-cost ratio makes it economically acceptable, and its ability to land at small airports significantly reduces travel time compared to larger aircraft."

Terry Winson, the Vice President of Sales at Avex – DAHER-SOCATA's TBM distributor for the Southwest U.S. – noted that an increasing number of operators who previously utilized jets are now considering the TBM for their business travel. "Adding to the TBM 850's credibility is its lineage, which is linked to a company that has been in the airplane business for 100 years," he added.

DAHER-SOCATA's TBM 850 demonstrator is included in the NBAA Annual Meeting & Convention's static display at Las Vegas' Henderson Executive Airport, and the company also has an exhibit in the Las Vegas Convention Center (Booth #C6521).

The TBM 850 is world's fastest single turboprop aircraft, with a maximum cruise speed of 320 KTAS at Flight Level 260 (in ISA conditions). It combines the cruising speed and trip times of a light jet with the economic direct operating costs, range and eco-friendly environmental signature of a turboprop engine.

For its 100-year celebrations, DAHER-SOCATA is providing the TBM 850 with an Exclusive Maintenance Program for five years – or 1,000 flight hours – which includes scheduled maintenance costs and annual inspections. In addition, warranties are extended to five years for avionics, five years for systems and seven years for the airframe. Since its launch in 2005, the TBM 850 has become an international success – with more 244 aircraft delivered as of September 29, 2011. The combined TBM 700 and TBM 850 fleet now stands at 570 units. The TBM's fleet total flight time exceeded 888,000 hours on September 30.