12 December 2002
Diamond’s revolutionary new diesel twin, the DA42 TwinStar, has made its first flight.
Christian Dries, CEO and owner of Diamond Aircraft, flew the aircraft earlier this week with a flight engineer from the company’s base at Wiener Neustadt in Austria. The TwinStar, powered by two Thielert Centurion 1.7 Jet A1-fuelled engines, is the first diesel twin in the sub-4500lb category.
After the flight Dries said: “I’m not Howard Hughes, I flew the TwinStar for the first time today, but not the last, because I believe in this project and my people.”
He added that he was proud of everyone in his company for making the DA42 TwinStar a reality in only 55 weeks from the original announcement of the project.
The TwinStar will have a 55-gallon fuel capacity as standard and is forecast to cruise at 180kt yet burn only 10 gallons per hour total. The range is hoped to be 870nm plus reserves. With optional 73-gallon tanks the range should be 1230nm plus reserves. Useful load is said to be more than 900lb (passengers and baggage) with full fuel. The TwinStar will have an integrated glass cockpit as standard.
All 2004 aircraft will have a guaranteed price of $364,000 in 2002 dollars.
Diamond will begin work on its next project, expected to be a light jet, next April.
<a href=”http://www.diamond-air.at” target=”_blank”>Diamond website</a>
