Austrian manufacturer is first to receive aircraft type approval from new body
Diamond Aircraft Industries has received European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) certification for the DA42 Twin Star, the first European manufacturer to receive an aircraft type certificate from the pan-European airworthiness body.
Deliveries of the Thielert Aircraft Engines Centurion 1.7-powered four-seater will begin in July, with the first handover to a US customer set for the Experimental Aircraft Association's Air-Venture show at Oshkosh, Wisconsin. Diamond says its orderbook for the DA42 stands just short of 400, with 123 commitments received in April alone.
Last month Diamond began flight testing a conventional Lycoming IO-360-engined version of the DA42, pitched primarily at the North American market (Flight International, 27 April-3 May).
Meanwhile, Diamond says its D-Jet very light jet will make its first public flight at April's Aero 2005 general aviation show in Friedrichshafen, Germany and gain certification by the Berlin air show in 2006.
The Austrian manufacturer has taken 170 orders for the four-seat, Williams FJ33-powered aircraft, but chief executive and majority shareholder Christian Dries predicts "the market will explode following first flight early next year".
Murdo Morrison / Berlin
Source: Flight International
