BUSINESS AVIATION
22 | Flight International | 28 January-3 February 2020 flightglobal.comD
eliveries of Daher’s TBM and
Kodiak single-engined air-
craft families slipped slightly
during 2019 following what it
calls a “tough year in the entry-
level business aviation market”.
The French airframer and aero-
structures company shipped a
combined 48 TBM 910s, 930s
and 940s last year, compared
with 50 910s and 930s in 2018.
Daher introduced the 940 last
March to replace its three-year-
old 930. The aircraft, which
received European and US certi-
fications in May and September,
respectively, features an auto-
throttle, increased automation for
the de-icing system and a
redesigned interior.S
tratos Aircraft has completed
load testing on its 716 very
light jet (VLJ) and is currently
assembling the first prototype of
the single-engined six-seater,
which it hopes to fly in the
second half of the year.
“We are making good pro-
gress,” confirms Stratos chief
technology officer Carsten Sun-
din. “99% of the parts for the test
aircraft are now built and
fuselage and wing mating is now
under way at our base in
Redmond [Oregon].”
Stratos hopes to begin ground
tests in the second quarter.
The 716 was launched in July
2018 as a longer and wider
version of the 714, which it
replaces. Stratos has continued
flying the proof-of-concept 714 to
gather feedback for the current
model, and has logged over 330h
on the article to date.
Sundin says the company is
“taking its time” with the 716, so
it can create an aircraft that is
“problem free” from the start.
Stratos completed a full loadIntroduction of TBM 940 has
eroded sales of the baseline 910
DaherWhile Daher has not provided
a shipment breakdown, US mar-
ket research company JetNet iQ
shows the introduction of the 940
has eaten into the 910 market.
Deliveries of the baseline
model fell from 29 aircraft in
2018 to 10 units last year, while
output for Daher’s top-of-the
range TBMs – the 930 and 940 –
almost doubled during the period
from 21 to 38 aircraft.
Shipments of the Kodiak 100
slipped by three units in 2019 to- The high-wing utility aircraft
was added to the line-up in Octo-
ber, following the company’s
acquisition of Quest Aircraft from
Japan’s Setouchi Holdings.
Daher is exploring new
markets for it, with intelligence,
surveillance and reconnaissance
and paragliding platforms being
considered. So far the unpressur-
ised, short take-off and landingaircraft has largely been sold to
charter and freight operators, as
well as humanitarian organisa-
tions, for whom the Kodiak was
originally designed. ■testing programme late last year
covering the 716’s fuselage,
horizontal and vertical fins,
landing gear and wing.
“We will begin high-speed taxi
testing in the next quarter, and
when the aircraft is absolutely
ready it will make its first flight,”
says Sundin.
Once flight testing is under
way, Stratos will open the 716
orderbook.
The first examples will be pro-
duced as kit aircraft and branded
as the 716X. This, Sundin says,
will allow the company to“refine” the product before it
embarks on the US Federal Avia-
tion Administration FAR Part 23
type certification campaign.
“We don’t have a specific
number of 716Xs in mind,” says
Sundin, “but it will be a small
volume, and we will work with
the owners to gather feedback on
the aircraft’s performance”.
Stratos hopes this approach
will lower the development costs
for the 716 and help attract
investors who will assist in
bringing the certificated version
to market.Stratos has sufficient funds to
support 716X development, and
to continue to make “incremental
improvements” to the 716
design, Sundin says. “But the
capital required for the Part 23
version will be greater by an
order of magnitude,” he cautions.
While structurally both aircraft
are identical, the 716X is
powered by the same 2,900lb
(12.9kN)-thrust Pratt & Whitney
Canada JT15D-5 engine as the
714 and features a Garmin G3X
flightdeck. The certificated
variant, however, will be
powered by a 3,400lb-thrust
PW535E and will feature either
G3000 or G5000 avionics.
The company is also expand-
ing its manufacturing capability
in Redmond, which currently
houses only a small amount of
tooling. “We are going to build a
full manufacturing facility which
will allow us to increase aircraft
volume as demand increases,”
says Sundin. A “realistic produc-
tion forecast” is for between 30
and 50 716s per year, he adds. ■Single-engined six-seater is derived from the proof-of-concept 714Stratos AircraftDEVELOPMENT KATE SARSFIELD LONDONStratos starts 716 prototype assembly
Very light jet nears maiden flight, with first examples to be produced as kits before Part 23 certification campaign beginsDELIVERIES KATE SARSFIELD LONDON‘Tough year’ triggers slip in shipments for Daher