From the existing guide library. Pricing, loan examples and source dates may be historical. Use current written quotes for your purchase. The worksheets use the shared calculation method.

The True Operating Cost of Daher TBM 900

The Daher TBM 900 is a premium single-engine turboprop offering pressurized cabin, exceptional altitude capability (31,000 ft), and six-seat capacity. Plan for $80,000–$95,000 annually in operating costs at 100 flight hours, or $800–$950 per hour. The TBM 900 leads the single-engine turboprop market with legendary reliability, lowest fuel burn among turboprops, and unmatched performance. Ideal for executives, mission-critical transport, and demanding operators.

Quick Specs: Daher TBM 900

Specification TBM 900 (Latest)
Engine Pratt & Whitney PT6A-66D (850 shp turboprop)
Fuel Burn 35–42 gal/hr cruise
Cruise Speed 280–310 mph
Service Ceiling 31,000 ft (pressurized)
Useful Load 2,600–2,800 lbs
Seats 6
Range 1,800–2,100 nm

TL;DR: Daher TBM 900 Annual Operating Cost Summary

  • Fixed costs: $30,000–$38,000/year (insurance $5,000–$7,500, hangar $8,000–$10,000, annuals $4,000–$5,500, turboprop systems)
  • Variable costs at 100 hours: $50,000–$57,000/year (Jet-A fuel, oil, engine reserves)
  • Total at 100 hours: $80,000–$95,000/year (~$800–$950/hour)
  • Finance a $700,000 TBM 900: Add $8,200/month ($98,400/year) at 6.5% over 10 years
  • At 50 hours: ~$65,000–$76,500/year (~$1,300–$1,530/hour)
  • At 200 hours: ~$130,000–$152,000/year (~$650–$760/hour)

Single-Engine Turboprop Operating Costs

Fixed Costs

  • Insurance: $5,000–$7,500/year for $700,000–$850,000 hull with 500+ pilot hours
  • Hangar: $8,000–$10,000/year (turboprops require climate-controlled storage)
  • Annual inspection: $4,000–$5,500 labor (turboprop-specific systems)
  • Turboprop maintenance reserve: $2,000–$3,000/year (condition monitoring)

Variable Costs (per flight hour)

  • Jet-A fuel: 38 gal/hr × $5.50/gal = ~$209/hour
  • Oil and filter: $8–$10/hour
  • Engine reserve: $11–$14/hour ($45K ÷ 3,500 TBO)
  • Prop maintenance: $10–$14/hour
  • Turboprop maintenance: $45–$60/hour (gearbox, governors, fuel systems)
  • Landing fees: $15–$30/landing

Fuel Burn & Jet-A Costs

Fuel Cost by Hours

Annual Hours Gallons Cost @ $5.50/gal $/Hour
50 1,900 $10,450 $209
100 3,800 $20,900 $209
150 5,700 $31,350 $209
200 7,600 $41,800 $209

Maintenance & PT6A Engine Reserves

Pratt & Whitney PT6A-66D

  • PT6A-66D: 3,500 hours TBO (industry-leading reliability)
  • Overhaul cost: $45,000–$55,000
  • Engine reserve: $12–$16/hour ($50K ÷ 3,500)
  • Parts availability: Excellent worldwide support

Turboprop-Specific Maintenance

  • Fuel heater maintenance: $400–$800/year
  • Propeller governor overhauls: $2,000–$3,000 each
  • Gearbox inspections: $600–$1,000/year
  • Condition monitoring trending: $1,000–$1,500/year
  • Budget: $50–$65/hour for all maintenance

Insurance & Storage

Insurance Premiums

  • $700,000 hull, 500+ hours, turboprop typed: $5,500–$7,000/year
  • $800,000 hull, 100–250 hours: $7,000–$9,000/year
  • Commercial/charter: +40–60% premium

Storage Costs

Option Monthly Annual
Climate-Controlled Hangar $650–$850 $7,800–$10,200
Standard Hangar $550–$700 $6,600–$8,400

Annual Ownership Scenarios

Operating Cost (Not Financed)

Hours/Year Fixed Variable Total $/Hour
50 $34,000 $31,000 $65,000 $1,300
100 $34,000 $62,000 $96,000 $960
200 $34,000 $124,000 $158,000 $790

Total Cost of Ownership (With Financing)

Assume $700,000 TBM 900, 6.5% APR, 10 years = $98,400/year debt service.

Hours/Year Operating Finance Total $/Hour
100 $96,000 $98,400 $194,400 $1,944
200 $158,000 $98,400 $256,400 $1,282

Financing the Daher TBM 900

  • Purchase price: $600,000–$900,000 (depends on year, avionics, airframe hours)
  • Down payment: 15–20%
  • Loan amount: $550,000–$750,000
  • Term: 10–15 years (longer for premium turboprops)
  • APR: 5.75–7.0% (2025)
  • Monthly payment: $6,500–$9,500

Lender Requirements: 650+ credit, turboprop type-rated, $250,000+ annual income, comprehensive business plan, hull insurance $700K+. Lenders like JakenAviation specialize in TBM 900 financing for executive and mission-critical operators.

TBM 900 vs. Competitors

  • vs. Piper Malibu: TBM 900 turboprop costs 50–60% more; higher altitude (31K vs. 25K), better payload, turboprop reliability
  • vs. King Air 90: TBM 900 single-engine; King Air 90 twin-engine (safety advantage) but similar costs
  • vs. Socata TBM 850: TBM 900 newer, more advanced avionics, ~5% higher operating costs

Get prequalified for premium turboprop aircraft financing »

Sources: Daher Aircraft Specs | AOPA Owner Reports | FAA TCDS

Operating-cost worksheet

Defaults are round assumptions, not a shop quote. AOPA’s worksheet splits fixed costs (insurance, hangar, the annual), direct costs (fuel and maintenance), and a reserve (overhaul cost divided by hours to TBO). Their old teaching example used half the hourly fuel bill as a maintenance starting point. Type your own gph and prices.

Stop dividing one year’s costs by too few hours

The expensive mistake on a Daher Tbm 900 is to take insurance, hangar, and an annual, divide by 80 or 100 hours, and call the result the cost of flying. Those bills arrive if you fly or not. AOPA’s operating-cost worksheet treats them as fixed costs, then adds direct costs that do move with hours: fuel, oil, and maintenance. A reserve for the engine or propeller is a third bucket, optional in their sheet and not optional in real life if you intend to keep the aircraft through an overhaul. The worksheet on this page follows that split. Any annual dollar range printed higher up on this page, if it does not cite an invoice or AOPA, is an illustration. Do not repeat it as a quote.

Fuel is a multiplication, not a rumor

AOPA’s instruction is price per gallon times gallons per hour. The gallons per hour belong to the way you actually fly the Daher Tbm 900, not to the brochure cruise at the most flattering altitude. Oil is the same idea: price per quart times quarts per hour. Type both into the worksheet. If you do not know burn, leave a conservative guess and replace it after five tanks of your own notes. A blog’s “cost per hour” that hides the burn and the fuel price is not usable, because you cannot tell which assumption broke.

The maintenance starting point AOPA actually published

For a first pass, AOPA equates routine engine and airframe maintenance, on an hourly basis, to about half the hourly fuel and oil bill, and says to adjust it once you have your own invoices. The checkbox on the worksheet does that and nothing fancier. Turn it off and type a maintenance figure when you have one. A separate AOPA line for avionics is 5 percent of the avionics’ replacement value per 500 hours. That is a starting point from their sheet, not a prediction that your Daher Tbm 900 panel will fail on schedule. Unsupported radios cost more than that formula, because the fix is often a replacement, not a repair.

The overhaul reserve is a division

AOPA’s method is the shop’s overhaul or remanufacture price divided by hours left until the published TBO, not divided by the full TBO if the engine is already mid-time. Their sheet walks through a Cessna 172 example: $17,000 over 2,000 hours is $8.50 an hour, while a $27,000 reman with 900 hours left is $30 an hour. Those dollars are the example in the article, and they are not a 2026 quote for a Daher Tbm 900. The arithmetic is what you copy. Propeller overhaul, in the same AOPA sheet, is penciled at about $0.25 an hour for a fixed-pitch prop and about $1 an hour for a constant-speed prop, with more for a three-blade. Treat those as historical placeholders and ask a prop shop.

Sources