Press Release
Issued by Daher Aircraft.
July 25, 2012
Daher-Socata welcomed French TBM 700 pilots Louis-Alain and Annie Dumont to the company's exhibit at this week's AirVenture Oshkosh gathering, honoring this latest aviator to use a TBM very fast turboprop aircraft in a globe-spanning voyage.
Dumont participated in a trip organized by the Air Journey company, and his TBM 700 joined three very light jets on a 25,000-naut. mi. flying adventure that visited 27 countries during 53 stopovers. Total fuel consumption of the Daher-Socata turboprop-powered aircraft is approximately 5,800 U.S. gallons – while the equivalent light jets are more than 40 % above.
The TBM joined the fleet in Europe on May 18th, flew Eastbound and landed in Oshkosh on July 23rd.
"This flight of a lifetime allowed us to visit many countries for the first time, and we could really enjoy such a long-duration trip with the TBM – especially since we could rely on Daher-Socata customer support, which was there if we needed any assistance, either at distance or through its network," Dumont said.
Dumont is a Paris-based doctor, and said the TBM 700 gave him the range to fly direct legs, while the light jets needed stopovers. "My best performances were a flight from Marrakech (Morocco) to Malta (1 150-naut. mi.), which I flew non-stop in 4.25 hours – while light jet pilots had to make a 70-min refueling stop, and a flight from Cebu (Philippines) to Hong Kong in 3h45 vs. 5h" he added.
According to Stéphane Mayer, the President and CEO of Daher-Socata, the entire TBM in-service fleet logs an average 100,000 miles daily, which is the equivalent of four around-the-world flights every day. "We are pleased to have Dr. & Mrs. Dumont as a Daher-Socata guest at this year's AirVenture Oshkosh, welcoming them as customers and friends to this international-scale aviation event," Mayer stated. "Our company's participation at Oshkosh is part of the Daher group's worldwide presence, which ensures service and assistance to our customers all over the world."
Nicolas Chabbert, the Senior Vice President of Daher-Socata's Airplane Division, said more and more TBM operators are now using their TBM aircraft for long-distance flights.
"This is confirmed by our fleet statistics, with such examples as Wei Chen, who last year was the first Chinese pilot to fly around the world in one of our aircraft," he explained. "So far this year, there have been several pilots – including Louis-Alain Dumont – who are flying long-distance trips across our planet. This tells a lot about the confidence they have in our airplane and the world class support we provide."
Daher-Socata's TBM 850 is the world's fastest single turboprop aircraft. As an 850-shp version of Daher-Socata's proven six-seat TBM 700, the TBM 850 has a maximum cruising speed of 320 KTAS at Flight Level 260 (in ISA conditions). It combines cruising speed and trip times of a light jet with the economic direct operating costs, range and moderate environmental signature of a turboprop engine.
The maximum range and useful load – which are enhanced on the TBM 850's Model Year 2012 version – and the ability to land at small airports are some of its customers' favorite features. Daher-Socata offers the Model Year 2012 TBM 850 with a host of benefits – including an Exclusive Maintenance Program that lowers the scheduled maintenance costs for 5 years or 1,000 hours.
Since its 2005 launch, the TBM 850 has become an international success – with more than 277 aircraft delivered as of July 15, 2012. The combined TBM 700 and TBM 850 fleet now stands over 600 units worldwide and exceeded the 960,000 flight hours milestone this spring.
