Last month's European convention of the TBM Owners and Pilots Association (TBMOPA) attracted a wide customer base of its fast and efficient TBM aircraft product line, from private owners and operators to the French Air Force and French Army Aviation.

Daher was a co-sponsor of the annual gathering, underscoring its support for the TBMOPA's commitment to the promotion of flight safety and operational efficiency for the TBM fleet, with some 1,190 airplanes delivered to date. A large Daher team was present at the convention, led by CEO Nicolas Chabbert and Raphael Maitre, vice president of customer support.

A total of 25 TBMs were flown into Biarritz-Pays Basque airport for the meeting, composed of the legacy TBM 700 and the follow-on TBM 850, along with Daher's TBM 900-series: the TBM 910, TBM 930, TBM 940 and the latest TBM 960.

At the hotel convention site in Biarritz, attendees benefitted from three days of in-depth sessions that focused on TBM programme updates, along with experience-sharing on flight operations, as well as the use of the Me & My TBM application and its data analysis capabilities. Speakers included TBM pilot Jacques Bothelin, former leader of the Breitling Jet Team, who talked about flying with Europe's largest civilian aerobatic display team. Suppliers such as Pratt & Whitney Canada and Garmin held workshops about their latest developments and best practices.

"The events organised by TBMOPA provide a unique opportunity to bring together customers, key vendors, training organisations, instructors and our network of approved dealers," says Maitre. "This year was particularly important, as we provided updates about our 'Safe Horizons' training outreach, which is now led by David Petit, the new pilot training programme manager at Daher's Aircraft Division."

US-based TBMOPA chairman JJ Suarez adds: "With the support of Daher as the TBM manufacturer, I appreciated the opportunity to personally meet with our European members and discuss their expectations. I also want to acknowledge the European convention's organisational support by David Fabry as the chairman of TBMOPA Europe."