Elliott Aviation in Des Moines, Iowa, has become the recipient of the 800th TBM turboprop single built by Daher at its assembly line in France. The aircraft – a TBM 930 registered as N930EA – was produced at the Daher facility at Tarbes-Lourdes-Pyrenees Airport, and flown across the Atlantic to Bangor, Maine, before heading inland to Iowa.
Before it departed, Daher employees involved in the TBM program gathered for a photo at the company’s facility, grouping together to create the historic ‘800’. Their journey started with a TBM 700 in 1991, with the 500th and 600th TBM models following in 2009 and 2011 respectively. Several of these aircraft have found their way to Elliott Aviation in the past; the company is Daher’s authorized TBM distributor for North Dakota, South Dakota, Nebraska and Minnesota, in addition to its base in Iowa.
Nicolas Chabbert, senior vice president of the Daher Airplane Business Unit, said, “The 800th TBM represents another important achievement and highlights the success of our very fast turboprop aircraft family, whose first model – the TBM 700 – entered into production 25 years ago. We remain confident in the TBM family’s future, backed by continuous developments that brought us to the latest TBM 900 and 930 versions today, creating a strong foundation for the years to come. We owe this success to the commitment of our teams to meet the expectations and the passion of our customers for this unique aircraft. Year after year, our customers and operators appreciate the TBM’s speed, comfort, operating efficiency and excellent handling characteristics.”
