The Sun ‘n Fun Aerospace Expo in Lakeland, Florida, made for a fitting place for the latest update from Daher on its plans to add to that state’s aerospace production capacity. While the renovation of the former aerostructures facility the French OEM acquired in 2022 was announced previously, the work is now at the point where Daher Aircraft CEO Nicolas Chabbert is ready to start hiring to staff the final assembly line on the Whitham Field Airport in Stuart, Florida (KSUA), when it opens next year. “I mean, as far as I’m concerned, I need the first wave. I need 35 new hires. Because we are constantly hiring people for our current location in Stuart. So I think this top number, if I include Sandpoint, Stuart, and logistics, it is probably close to 200.”
Daher has also completed the reorganization of its industrial activities so that Daher Aircraft falls into one entity instead of being split across an industrial division and an aircraft division. While the process to get there involved a restructuring of the design authorization and production authorization under which the TBM series was produced, the most noticeable change to the pilot comes on the data plate, which in 10 serial numbers will say “Daher Aircraft SS” rather than the “Compagnie Daher SA” it shows today.
The striking pair of aircraft on display at Sun ‘n Fun include the new TBM 980, unveiled in January, and the Kodiak 100 in matching paint schemes. Pilots of Kodiak aircraft now can benefit from the same connected aircraft concept Daher debuted with the Me & My TBM app in 2020—now in version 8—with the launch of the Me & My Kodiak edition.
A key difference between the two lies in an understanding of who tends to operate the TBM versus the Kodiak. While the TBM fleet lies mostly in the hands of individual owners flying their aircraft, the Kodiak fleet is more likely to work for a living, and perhaps be one of several deployed by a flight department or public service organization. Therefore, Daher set up the Kodiak app to handle multiple aircraft and pilots from the outset. But that doesn’t mean TBM pilots don’t share their flying with others—Chabbert noted that while “there is not as much as the demand for fleet [on the TBM], I’m sure that there will be, because some people already try to customize some of those features and make it a little bit different for their needs. You can elect to make it truly open to the community, or lock it down completely, or you can select a few of your pals.”
Longtime Daher (and before that, SOCATA) partner Columbia Aircraft Sales recently added a new location in Martinsburg, West Virginia (KMRB), giving the company additional service strength in the Washington, D.C., region.
