Daher, the manufacturer of the TBM, today salutes the successful Channel Crossing made by the E-Fan 1.0 technology demonstrator, part of the E-Fan all-electric aircraft program, developed by Airbus Group subsidiary Voltair. For Daher, this was a tip of the hat to aviation history, since the engineer Raymond Saulnier, from whom Daher traces its origins, was one of the designers of the aircraft that Louis Bleriot used to make the first Channel crossing in 1909.

As part of the all-electric aircraft program launched by Airbus Group, Daher is responsible for the design and certification of the first electrically-propelled twin-seater training aircraft. This is a first concrete application of the program, with E-Fan 2.0 to be series-built and marketed as a trainer aircraft. E-Fan 2.0 aims to be first electric aircraft certified by the European civil aviation authorities, and the first all-electric aircraft designed specifically for pilot training, and will therefore be setting an international standard. One goal of the program is also to open the way for applications of electricity on larger aircraft.

Daher - together with the French Directorate-General for Civil Aviation - is also in charge of defining the operational rules applicable to this initial training aircraft.

"The success of this Channel crossing by the E-Fan 1.0 is a milestone that confirms the viability of the all- electric aircraft concept, in the same way that Louis Blériot demonstrated 106 years ago with the same flight that the aeroplane could become a means of transportation. So this is a program of great importance for the future, not only for the aerospace industry, but also for all the advanced technology industries where the effective control of electrical energy is the strategic factor", explained Didier Kayat, Deputy CEO of Daher.

"We are particularly proud to contribute to this future program alongside Airbus Group and Voltair" commented Nicolas Chabbert, director of Daher's Aircraft BU which is driving the project. "We bring to this program our manufacturing expertise dating back to the Morane-Saulnier company. One of the founders, the engineer Raymond Saulnier, was also one of the designers of the aircraft that Louis Bleriot used when he acccompished his his feat on July 25, 1909".