Diamond Aircraft is seeking to more than quadruple production of the the DA42 multi purpose platform next year to satisfy burgeoning demand for the piston twin from international aerial work markets, including airborne law enforcement, surveillance, laser scanning and search and rescue.
as a boost to the aircraft's market appeal, Diamond subsidiary, Diamond Airbone Sensing recently completed the longest non-stop flight of a DA42MPP to date during a border control and surveillance demonstration, dubbed Operation Pegasus.
The aircraft, equipped with a gyro-stabilised daylight and thermal video camera, a Scotty beyond line-of-sight satellite communications system, and a Wood & Douglas line-of-sight downlink system, took off from Vienna's Neustadt-Ost airfield at 07:00.
The crew patrolled the European Union's former external border with Hungary, Slovakia, Slovenia and the Czech Republic twice, and returned to its base 13h and 4min later.
Live video sequences of the border area were regularly transmitted to a ground station via the satcom system during the entire flight.
"The fuel meter and flight management system indicated a remaining 13USgal (50 litres) on board. At a power setting of minimum loitering speed (40%, 76kt/140km/h) the aircraft could have remained airborne for another two hours," says Daimond Airborne Sensing.
The Wiener Neustadt-based company delivered the first DA42 MPP to Austrian laser scanning company Riegl late last year and plans to hand more than 10 aircraft this year, including six to the Venezuelan government. The aircraft will be used for law enforcement and search and rescue operations.
"Next year we plan to deliver between 20 and 50 aircraft," Diamond Airborne Sensing says, with the bulk of the orders for law enforcement agencies. "This is the biggest market for the DA42MPP as it is most likely to attract fleet sales," says the company.
Source: Flight International
