The French Have a Word For It: Rejoue-le

Daher, the French industrial conglomerate and parent company of general aviation aircraft marques TBM, Kodiak, and SOCATA, has delivered a unique Kodiak-100 to the North Carolina Forest Service’s Aviation Division (NCFSAD).

By taking delivery of the high-wing, single-turboprop-engine utility airplane, the NCFSAD earned the distinction of being the world’s first operator of a Kodiak-100 equipped with a composite five-blade propeller. The organization will utilize the plane as a “load aircraft” and ply it to the carriage of equipment and supplies in support of aerial tankers in the wildfire suppression role.

Daher Aircraft Division senior vice-president Nicolas Chabbert stated: “As North Carolina’s motto is: ‘First in Flight,’ it’s extremely appropriate that the state’s Forest Service is the initial operator of this latest upgrade for the Kodiak-100.”

Designed and built by Hartzell Propeller specifically for use on Kodiak-100 aircraft, the new five-blade propeller incorporates Hartzell’s lightweight Raptor propeller hub technology and carbon-fiber blades. The Hartzell unit is fully 13-pounds lighter than the Kodiak-100’s OEM four-blade metal propeller.

Key features of Hartzell’s composite propeller blades include a durable nickel-cobalt leading edge, a nickel erosion screen for FOD (foreign object damage) protection, urethane paint for improved erosion protection, and extensive use of aerospace-grade carbon fiber.

Hartzell Propeller President JJ Frigge set forth: “This new lightweight propeller option gives Kodiak-100 pilots a five-percent shorter takeoff roll, with less vibration and even quieter flights. We have worked with Daher for years on their TBM platform, and we are very pleased to continue our partnership with them, enabling their STOL Kodiak to perform even better with a new, customized five-blade composite Hartzell prop.”

Compared to the current standard Kodiak-100 propeller, Hartzell’s new prop occasions a significant six dB(A) noise reduction. Flyover noise, as measured during the propeller’s STC flight-test program, was 77 dB(A) lower than the EASA requirement of 85 dB(A), and less than the strict German requirement of 78 dB(A).

Hartzell’s five-blade composite propeller for the Kodiak-100 incorporates an anti-ice system and is certified for Flight Into Known Icing (FIKI) conditions. The unit’s 96-inch diameter arc has a ground-clearance of 16.4-inches and preserves the Kodiak-100’s ability to operate from unimproved surfaces. Similarly, Kodiak-100 aircraft contemporaneously retrofitted with floats and Hartzell’s five-blade composite propeller retain their ability to conduct water operations.

New-production Kodiak-100 Series III aircraft are presently available with Hartzell’s five-blade composite propeller as an option. The retrofit for all in-service Kodiak-100s is offered via the Hartzell Top Prop program. The propeller is durable by design, with a TBO of four-thousand-hours/six years, and an industry-leading warranty of six-years or up to four-thousand-hours.

Daher’s Kodiak-100 is a robust and reliable multi-mission workhorse. The aircraft is operated worldwide by civil and government agencies tasked with applications the likes of wildfire suppression, monitoring national resources, public safety, humanitarian-services, and Intelligence, Surveillance, and Reconnaissance (ISR) operations. Of the 320-plus Kodiak-100s delivered to date, upwards of ninety are in-service with multi-mission operators.

Daher’s director of Kodiak flight operations and special missions Paul Carelli remarked: “With its enormous useful load, off-airport capabilities, and simple and rugged design, the Kodiak-100 is ideal for such a broad range of applications.”

Mr. Carelli added: “In addition to the performance improvement with Hartzell’s five-blade composite propeller, the aircraft is extremely quiet. This is significant for missions such as forestry and law enforcement, and also is very important when flying recreationally in backcountry environments.”

Daher’s Aircraft Division is exhibiting at the Airborne Public Safety Association’s APSCON annual convention in Orlando, Florida. The company invites APSCON attendees to visit its displays at Booth #404.

In other news, Daher has delivered the 80th TBM 960 executive single-engine turboprop aircraft, thereby marking a milestone in the annals of the company’s top-of-the-line turboprop offering.

The fourth-score TBM 960 was handed over to a private owner just over one-year after the model’s April 2022 launch.

To acknowledge the model’s popularity and celebrate the program’s success, Daher will exhibit its TBM 960 demonstrator aircraft at booths 387-392 throughout EAA’s AirVenture 2023 at Oshkosh, Wisconsin’s Wittman Regional Airport (OSH). Subject aircraft features Daher’s distinctive Sirocco paint scheme.

Daher Aircraft Division senior vice-president Nicolas Chabbert stated: “Owners and operators praise the TBM 960’s outstanding flight experience and increased cabin comfort, as well as the enhanced efficiency and sustainability. It takes the maximum advantage of today’s technology to provide digital control for the engine and the propeller, extending into the digitally-controlled cabin.”

The TBM 960 marks Daher’s fifth evolution of the TBM 900-series developed, initially, by defunct French airframer Société de Construction d'Avions de Tourisme et d'Affaires—better known by the acronym SOCATA. Across five iterations spanning the TBM 900, 910, 930, 940, and 960, the worldwide TBM 900 family fleet numbers 488 aircraft. The number surpasses the delivery totals of the two previous generations of TBM aircraft, the TBM 700 and TBM 850, of which 324 and 338 specimens were produced respectively.

Introduced in April 2022 at Lakeland, Florida’s SUN ‘n Fun Aerospace Expo, the TBM 960 is powered by a single, purpose-built, 895-shaft-horsepower Pratt & Whitney PT6E-66XT turboprop engine turning a five-blade Hartzell Raptor propeller. The drivetrain is operated via Daher’s Engine and Propeller Electronic Control System (EPECS)—a proprietary architecture comprising a dual-channel Full Authority Digital Engine Control (FADEC) system and an electronic propeller-control mechanism.

By virtue of the EPECS, the start-cycle of the TBM 960’s PT6E-66XT engine—following the activation of a single cockpit switch— is fully-automated. The aircraft’s power-lever becomes an e-throttle, which maintains a single forward position throughout flight. From takeoff to landing, ALL TBM 960 power-changes are made via the EPICS—thereby, in Daher’s words, “ … optimizing powerplant performance throughout the flight envelope while reducing pilot workload by integrating all functions and protecting the engine’s life.” At Daher’s recommended cruise-power-setting of 308-knots, the TBM 960’s fuel-consumption is a comparatively miserly 57 U.S. gallons per-hour.

Fully-integrated into the aircraft’s propulsion system, the Hartzell Raptor propeller is designed to reduce overall weight and improve the TBM 960’s takeoff distance, and climb and cruise speeds. Turning at 1,925 rpm during maximum power output, the propeller’s takeoff sound-signature is a modest 76.4-decibels—significantly quieter than a domestic dishwashing machine.

The TBM 960’s cabin features an all-new environmental control system produced by Enviro Systems Inc. Additional enhancements include ergonomically-enhanced seats, USB-A and USB-C power plugs, individual cup-holders, headset hangers at each cabin seat, ambient LED strip-lighting, and electronically-dimmable windows; the latter two features are controlled via a Passenger Comfort Display (PCD).

The TBM 960’s cockpit is fitted with a G3000 integrated flight deck suite, which features flight envelope monitoring through the Garmin’s Electronic Stability and Protection (ESP) and Under-Speed Protection (USP) systems. TBM 960 pilots are rendered further sedentary by an advanced icing protection scheme, and the aircraft’s Emergency Descent Mode (EDM) function and HomeSafe emergency autoland system.

To date, Daher has delivered a total of 1,155 TBM family aircraft over 12 different models.

FMI: www.daher.com