Daher-Socata showcases TBM 850 in polished aluminium at NBAA 2013 exhibition in Las Vegas | Press Release

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Press Release

Issued by Daher Aircraft.

October 21, 2013

Daher-Socata showcases TBM 850 in polished aluminium at NBAA 2013 exhibition in Las Vegas

Daher-Socata is showcasing a 2013 TBM 850 Elite Model with an eye-catching exterior finish at this week's National Business Aviation Association Convention & Exhibition in Las Vegas.

The special treatment consists of a bare metal finish across most of the airframe, complemented by grey metal paint on the fuselage bottom and for the composite parts, along with a powerful matte black tail. Adding to the TBM 850 Elite's very special look is its full black onyx cabin interior with carbon fiber fittings.

To meet this customer personalization request involved extra work time and research. The consequences of a bare metal finish needed to be investigated by the Design Office of Daher-Socata Airplane Business Unit and the alclad supplier. Due to limited technical information on this kind of finish, Daher-Socata engineers embarked on a test process to determine the viability of the in-service longevity of this finish. Once this process was complete the standard primer coat had to be removed off the already treated skins that involved over 250 man hours of hand work. This was followed by the application of polishing compounds to bring about a high lustre finish, that subsequently completed by a final polish phase performed by a U.S. specialist in California.

A key element in the treatment was its polish paste, replacing the factory-standard anti-corrosion application that usually involves a primer coating and several layers of white paint. Daher-Socata has designed a tailored maintenance program for the ongoing care of these surfaces for the new owner.

After the process, this specially-treated TBM 850 is 100 lbs. (50-kg) lighter than a standard production airplane with an empty weight of 4466 lbs. (2,023-kg) providing 947 lbs, (430-kg) payload with full fuel.

"The NBAA 2013 exhibition provides a showcase for our first-ever 'concept plane' treatment of this type, which underscores Daher-Socata's skills in meeting customers' requests for stylized and very distinctive aircraft,” explained Nicolas Chabbert, senior vice president of Daher-Socata 's Airplane Division. “In achieving these results for a particular TBM 850 owner, we processed the aircraft rapidly while also acquiring new skills in the process."