With first production of Diamond Aircraft’s DA42 Twin Star less than one year away, the Austrian company is beginning to clock up orders for the twin engine turboprop. EBAN spoke to André Martin, who is in charge of demos and distribution in France, to find out more.

Martin said: “Right now, we have ‘orders’ for eight to ten twins in France, which will rise to 15 per year. Diamond has already taken orders for 150 aircraft and it’s increasing fast. Many are for training organisations and often it’s for 10 or more at a time.”

He continued: “Diamond asks for €10,000 on the table, but before the customer puts the requested 30 per cent down, they are able to experience a demo and make sure it is the right aircraft for them.”

Priced at €359,800, Martin says

the DA42 Twin Star is being

targeted at three types of customer: The working person with a

private pilot’s licence; the flight training school for professional pilots; and the commuter or special operations category.

He said: “The flight training

school customer is the largest group at the moment. They are schools who are currently operating Senecas, Cheyennes and Beech 55s and 58s.

“They seem to be impressed

with the direct operating costs,

which are roughly 80 euros per flight hour, including provisions for replacement of the engine, full fuel and full maintenance.

“What’s more, in countries like China where they have poor roads and little money available, the aircraft is a good idea for companies which are looking to develop.”

The range of the Twin Star is typically somewhere between 1,000 and 1,500nm, which gives it the

legs for a Paris-Marrakech flight although, as Martin points out, “passengers might like to have a comfort stop on the way.”

Interestingly, while the aircraft

is already certified for Jet fuel, it

is now in the process of being certified for diesel. Said Martin: “People will mainly use Jet fuel in it – particularly in France and Belgium because it’s cheaper than diesel at the moment. But it will be certified for diesel for occasional use.”

As if to demonstrate its confidence, Diamond will have a special facility built in November of this year to cover the increased production demands of two production lines for the DA42 and

the recently-announced D-JET,

with capacity to produce 200 of each type per year.