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Aviation History
2004
2004-09 - 1255.PDF
SPARKLING PERFORMER mi in; ad: of ii ne fitl str cal in ou BiJ in; tin un ab no pil sei wa en Diamond Aircraft's DA42 Twin Star is high on technology and economy - and proves itself a delight to fly PETER COLLINS / WIENER NEUSTADT Aquiet revolution in European general aviation is taking place in Austria. Diamond Aircraft, based at Wiener Neustadt, south of Vienna, has just certificated its DA42 Twin Star under the new European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) procedures. US certification is expected by September. What makes this four-seat touring and training aircraft different is the combination of advanced features within the first twin- engine design in this category seen in more than 25 years on either side of the Atlantic. The airframe is carbonfibre-reinforced plastic for lightness and strength, giving the DA42 passive safety levels that meet the new EASA 21 rules, as well as efficient aerodynamics and essentially unlimited airframe life. The engines are turbocharged direct-injection diesels, 135hp (lOOkW) Theilert Centurion 1.7s, with dual-chan nel, full-authority digital engine control (FADEC) allowing powerplant and pro peller settings to be governed by a single power lever and allowing carefree han dling. Finally, the DA42 features Garmin G1000 integrated digital avionics based around two large flat-panel screens that replace conventional instruments and include a crew alerting system (CAS). This package of features has persuaded customers to place deposits on more than 410 DA42s at about €390,000 ($475,000) a copy in its basic version - and all this before delivery of the first production air craft, set for September. Flight International was invited to flight test the DA42 at the Diamond factory at Wiener Neustadt Ost airfield, where new facilities will allow the company to manu facture up to 600 aircraft a year. The DA4] is the latest addition to a product range thai includes two piston singles - the two-sea! DA20 and four-seat, turbo-diesel DA4d from which the DA42 has been developed With the productidn-standard DA42 A an air show in Lyon, France and the otha DA42 at Neustadt rigged with LycominJ engines for the US market option, I was I test OE-VDA, a diesel-powered prototype] The aircraft is involved in autopilot certifi cation and had early versions of severs cockpit items and additional cables an wires for test measurements. At the moment, the DA42 is certificated only for visual flight rules conditions, bd certification to full instrument flight rule] (IFR) should coincide with the first produo tion delivery in September. The aircraft I also only cleared to use paved surface^ because Diamond had not yet demon strated the DA42 on grass and unprepared surfaces. This should be a formality. When fully certificated, the DA42 be IFR compliant and able to be flown inl forecast icing conditions or areas with pie) dieted thunderstorms. The maximum operating altitude is 18,000ft (5,490ml and, although the aircraft is unpressurised a cabin oxygen system is fitted to suppl! all four occupants for extended flight above 10,000ft. Accompanying me on the test flight wa Josef Trattner, who delivers and demon strates DA40s and DA42s for Diamond. Vt were to use runway 10. The weather wa warm and sunny, 24°C (75°F) with a 15k (28km/h) wind from 180°. Two pilots, no baggage and full fuel gavi a take-off weight of 1,555kg (3,4251b), a 86 13-19 JULY 2004 FLIGHT INTERNATIONAL www.fliqhtinternational.co" »w
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