Daher salutes the annual TBM Safety Seminar’s success, organized in 2016 by AVEX

In addition to the safety-related briefings and sessions, this gathering provided an opportunity for attendees to see one of Daher’s new TBM family aircraft, which was freshly delivered from the production line to AVEX – Daher’s award-winning TBM Authorized Distributor for Arizona, California, Colorado, Nevada, New Mexico and Utah.

TBM Safety Seminar sessions involved seven guest speakers, offering presentations on a full range of leading-edge topics. They included veteran instructor Walt Adair from Turbine Solutions Incorporated (TSI), who discussed measures to help avoid task saturation and what pilots can do to stay in command; Rick Killmon, an air traffic controller, explaining emergency procedures; and Pratt & Whitney Canada’s Jeremy Ganivet, covering PT6A engine updates and best practices.

Also providing briefings were Phil Santoro from the Daher Airplane Business Unit’s Customer Support Department, speaking about preparations for winter flights;

computer industry expert Steve Kleiman, demonstrating his “TBM Performance” app; and Terry Winson, Director of Sales and co-founder of AVEX, presenting the role of task saturations in accidents and the tools to properly manage pilot workload. The seminar ended with Michael Maya Charles, author of “Artful Flying,” who led the group on a fun, experiential journey into human performance in his talk entitled: “I know…”

In another event highlight, TBM pilots went through a 1.5-hour in-flight assessment with experienced instructors from TSI to test their skills in five emergency scenarios. Fred DeVore was the “Top Gun Pilot” award winner with his excellent performance during this assessment.

“Safety is something we take seriously here at AVEX; it’s in our DNA,” said Terry Winson. “Throughout the seminar, it was very satisfying to see that so many TBM owners and pilots feel the same way.”

As part of the gathering’s social, networking and pilot-to-pilot exchange, the seminar concluded with a James Bond “900” theme dinner. “We salute the excellent organization and the success of AVEX’s TBM Safety Seminar, with a growing attendance for what has become a must-attend annual event within the TBM pilot community,” added Nicolas Chabbert, the Senior Vice President of Daher’s Airplane Business Unit.

In addition to its role in bringing together the TBM community for this year’s seminar, the overall safety commitment of AVEX has been recognized with the company’s 9th Diamond Award received from the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration airworthiness authority.

As the FAA’s most prestigious maintenance and training honor, the Diamond award was implemented to recognize and honor employers and technicians taking the commitment of aircraft maintenance training and safety excellence in the area of initial and recurrent training. It recognizes highly efficient training programs aimed at improving safety and technical knowledge that exceeds standard FAA regulatory requirements.

Additionally, AVEX’s Ron Guynn was given the FAA’s top honor with the Aircraft Maintenance Technician (AMT) of The Year award in the U.S. airworthiness authority’s Western Region. “Only eight AMTs are designated for this award each year, which further demonstrates AVEX’s commitment in employing only the highest-caliber individuals to execute safety,” commented Terry Winson of AVEX. He added that AVEX’s initiative is fully in-line with the company’s efforts toward safety, developed with the introduction of the e-copilot functions on both the TBM 900 and TBM 930 – the latter of which was unveiled last month.

Daher’s TBM 930 is the latest step in the company’s very fast turboprop aircraft family evolution, with this new version integrating Garmin’s G3000 avionics suite – the first touchscreen-controlled glass flight deck ever designed for light turbine aircraft. Its cockpit instrument panel’s three wide-format WXGA displays can operate in a split-screen mode, enabling maps and flight plans to remain on the screen side-by-side with primary, traffic and weather information.

A new glass touchscreen controller serves as the pilot’s primary point of entry for the G3000 system, displaying communication and navigation controls. In addition, the G3000 avionics suite’s high-resolution displays enhance the presentation of simulated 3-D perspective topography for Garmin’s SVT™ Synthetic Vision Technology.

In terms of aesthetics, Daher has developed an enhanced interior for the TBM 930 with redesigned seating and headrests, along with a new choice of wood or carbon finishes. For an additional touch of style, polished metal is used for handles, door sills and steps.

In addition to the TBM 930’s introduction, Daher has integrated the company’s e-copilot™ function on Model Year 2016 aircraft for both the TBM 900 and TBM 930 versions, incorporating the following systems and functionality for reduced pilot workload:

A sensor and angle of attack (AOA) calculator, providing angle of attack information on the primary flight display;

Electronic stabilization and protection systems (ESP) and Under Speed Protection (USP), which are connected to the AOA computer. These electronic monitoring and stability augmentation systems assist the pilot in maintaining the aircraft in a stable flight condition when flight parameters are exceeded;

An emergency descent mode (EDM) in the autopilot, which places the aircraft in automatic descent to a safe altitude of 15,000-ft. in the event of cabin depressurization and lack of pilot response; and

New voice alerts – providing notification on stall, overspeed, landing gear status and oxygen mask use – which replace aural sounds for better warning identification.

With the TBM product line expansion, distinguishing differences between the TBM 900 and TBM 930 are concentrated on their primary avionics.

About Daher – www.daher.com

Daher is an equipment supplier developing Integrated Industrial systems for aerospace and advanced technologies.

By combining its expertise in industrial manufacturing, product and process engineering, logistics and transport, and industrial services, Daher designs and develops integrated industrial systems. Daher has established itself as a leader in five fields of activity: aircraft manufacturing, aerostructures and systems, integrated logistics, nuclear services, and valves.

In 2015, Daher posted a turnover superior to one billion euros, and its order book stands at around three-and-a-half years of turnover. Driven by bold innovation ever since it was founded in 1863, Daher has established itself today as one of the major players of the factory of the future – Factory 4.0.

Daher salutes AVEX’s TBM safety seminar success