Daher TBM 700/850/900/910/930/940/960 vs Pilatus PC-12
Head-to-head — specs, at a glance.
i
iDaher TBM 700/850/900/910/930/940/960
The TBM is the world's fastest single-engine turboprop, a pressurized six-seat French turbine that redefined what a single could do when it was certified in 1990. Born from a Mooney/Socata joint venture (TBM stands for "Tarbes — the Socata factory town — and Mooney, Business, Mooney"), the airplane has gone through seven marketing names across 35 years of continuous production, always chasing the same formula: jet-like cabin, jet-like speed, piston-like fuel burn. Over 1,100 have been delivered, and in July 2024 there were 523 of the 900-series alone flying worldwide. TBM owners are overwhelmingly owner-flown professionals — doctors, lawyers, business owners — who need to cover 800-1,500 nm legs in a day on their own schedule, and who have either graduated up from a cirrus-sr22 or sidestepped from a light jet looking for lower operating costs. At 330 KTAS the TBM 960 flies the same trip as a King Air at half the fuel burn, and single-pilot from the left seat. It is the benchmark the pilatus-pc12 competes against on cabin size, and the airplane that makes the cessna-208-caravan and daher-kodiak-100 look utilitarian. See also turbine-transition and valuation-methodology.
- +330 KTAS cruise speed with single-pilot capability — fastest single-engine turboprop
- +Pressurized cabin (6.2 psi differential) enables FL310 operations above weather
- +PT6A engine reliability with flat-rating above 10,000 ft density altitude
- !PT6A hot-section inspection required every 1,800 hours ($60K–$90K)
- !PT6A overhaul at TBO (3,600 hrs on -64/-66D) costs $450K–$550K
- !Specialist-only maintenance; annual inspection $12K–$25K at factory-authorized centers only
Pilatus PC-12
The Pilatus PC-12 is a single-engine pressurized turboprop built in Stans, Switzerland, and is the benchmark owner-flown turbine in general aviation. Announced at NBAA 1989, it received Swiss certification on March 30, 1994, and FAA certification on July 15, 1994. With more than 2,000 airframes delivered (the 1,000th in June 2010), it is the best-selling pressurized single-engine turboprop in history. It combines a 330-cubic-foot King Air-class cabin, a signature aft cargo door, a 10,450 lb MTOW, single-pilot certification, and a PT6A up front. Owner-flown business operators, Part 135 charters (PlaneSense, Surf Air, Tradewind), fractionals, cargo feeders, EMS, skydiving operators, and military ISR users (U-28A) all fly it. It is frequently called "the Suburban of the sky" for its combination of payload, range, unimproved-field capability, and cabin versatility. Cross-reference daher-tbm for the speed-focused alternative, cessna-208-caravan and daher-kodiak-100 for unpressurized utility turbines, and beechcraft-king-air-90-200 for the twin-engine peer.
- +Gold-standard single-engine turbine for owner-flown business travel; jet-class cabin, 1,800 nm range, FL300 pressurized
- +Exceptional parts availability and factory support; Pilatus ships spares 24–48 hours from Colorado
- +Signature cargo door and payload flexibility; proven in charter, cargo feeder, and ISR operations
- !High fixed and operating costs (~$900–1,300/hr DOC, $300–450k/yr fixed); poor fit for low-utilization owners
- !Requires Pilatus-authorized service center for major inspections; only ~30 in North America; independent A&Ps limited to line maintenance
- !PT6A mid-life hot-section inspection at 1,750 hr is expensive ($85–150k) and commonly missed; engine TBO creep adds overhaul cost pressure
Comparing a specific airplane you found for sale?
Get a Tail # Report on that tail number →