TARBES, France — From takeoff in southwestern France to touchdown in the Florida, the experience of ferrying Daher’s TBM very fast turboprop aircraft over the North Atlantic Ocean for customer deliveries is highlighted in a new video available on YouTube.
With the Americas accounting for nearly 80% of all TBMs ordered, ferry flights of new production aircraft across the North Atlantic is a regular part of the delivery process, which routinely is completed with an arrival at Daher’s operation in Pompano Beach, Florida.
The new video captures the unique character of such ferry flights, including landings at airports such as Reykjavik, Iceland; Narsarsuaq, Greenland, with its approach along a fjord; and Goose Bay in northern Canada, which is one the coldest places on Earth, according to company officials.
Produced by Airborne Films, the video chronicles the initial ferry flight with Daher’s latest TBM version – the TBM 930 – performed by Chief Test Pilot Stephane Jacques, with a departure from the TBM final assembly line in Tarbes, France and arrival at Pompano Beach.
The video also includes comments from Margrit Waltz, who has performed more than 800 ocean crossings, half of them being North Atlantic TBM ferry flights since she delivered the first TBM to the United States — aircraft Serial No. 5, a TBM 700 version — in 1991.
“Crossing the Atlantic Ocean in a pressurized single turboprop aircraft may appear routine today, but it still is a unique aviation experience — especially when customers take part in the ferry flight,” explained Nicolas Chabbert, Senior Vice President of the Daher Airplane Business Unit. “It was even more of an adventure 25 years ago, when assistance such as satellite positioning and in-flight weather updates were not readily available.”
Chabbert added that the new video on YouTube is a tribute to all ferry pilots who have been a part of the TBM aircraft family’s success.