Daher Introduces Two New Turboprops

New features for Daher's TBM 910 were unveiled at Sun 'n Fun on April 2. (photo courtesy: Daher).

Daher launched a pair of airplanes at this year's Sun ’n Fun, the entry-level 910 and the no-holds-barred 940. While some have a hard time with the idea of the planes being "new"--they are, after all, based on a design from the late 1980s--they are very different birds than older models. Today's airplanes are way more sophisticated, safer, better performing and, okay, prettier than back in the day, all of which surely goes into their appeal

The price for the "entry-level" 910 model is $3.83 million. While that seems like a lot, you get a lot of airplane for the money,and the truth is that the price of the nicely equipped standard 910 is significantly less than the $4.13 million 940 in its standard configuration. This allows Daher to better compete against some lower priced turbine options, including the successful Piper M600 turboprop single, which sells for less than $3 million, and the Cirrus SF50 single-engine turbofan, the G2 model of which goes for around $2.7 million. Unlike the Daher 940 and 930, which feature Garmin G3000 touch input avionics, the 910 has Garmin G1000 NXi, which many buyers will not see as a downgrade. Both new planes come with special "Elite" configurations for a little more.

One of the big additions is automatic ice detection and anti-ice activation, including inflating the boots, to get ice off the wing leading edges, and turning on the particle separator, which keeps ice out of the engine. There's also, of course, windshield and prop de-icing. When icing occurs and is detected, the system activates and alerts the pilot and advises them to revert to manual control. It's a great addition for a single-pilot airplane.

Like the G3000 suite, the G1000 NXi avionics in the 930 and 940, the 910 boasts numerous Garmin safety utilities, including Surface Watch, an advanced ground traffic and situational awareness feature, Baro VNAV, for allowing RNAV approaches when WAAS is not available; Garmin's visual approach feature, for when there are no approaches at an airport (or for a particular runway end), in addition to Garmin's terrific vertical guidance utilities.

The 910's cabin also features numerous style and quality of life upgrades, including improved seats, better sound proofing, better insulation and additional cabin power and USB connectivity.

The 940, which we've reported on previously, is also at the show. It's blockbuster feature is an autothrottle, one of the first turboprops with such a feature. Look for a flight report in a future issue of Plane & Pilot

For more information, visit tbm.aero.

This article was sponsored by Piper and Continental