The Goodyear, Arizona-based United Aviate Academy has ordered five new jet-fuel powered DA42-VI twins from Diamond Aircraft, with the first delivery made at this year's Sun 'n Fun Expo in Lakeland, Florida and the balance of the new fleet being delivered by the end of Q2 2023.

“We are excited to incorporate the Diamond Aircraft DA42-VI as our multi-engine trainer to our growing fleet. With its advance aircraft systems and performance, the DA42-VI provides us the unique opportunity to prepare our pilots for the next step in their career while honouring our commitment to using the most sophisticated training aircraft on the market today,” says academy CEO Dana Donati.

Diamond head of sales and marketing Trevor Mustard adds: “We are very pleased to have partnered with United Aviate as it continues to grow. Its mission to provide world-class flight training through equal opportunity initiatives will further incentivise a broader spectrum of student pilots and help meet the demand at the airline level. Diamond is proud to be part of United Aviate's new endeavour as it trains the pilots of tomorrow with the safest, most sustainable twins on the market today.”

The four seat DA42-VI is the most recent version of Diamond's technologically advanced piston twin, the first certified general aviation aircraft to combine a modern airframe, avionics and power plants. Well over 1,100 DA42s have been delivered since its introduction, outselling all other certified piston twins combined. The all-composite DA42-VIs are equipped with efficient, clean and reliable 168 hp jet fuel Austro engines AE300, Garmin G1000 NXi with three-axis automatic flight control system and optional electrically powered air conditioning. The DA42-VI is an excellent platform for multi-engine piston (MEP) training. With its unique combination of performance and utility, the jet fuel powered aircraft is designed to make transitioning from a single engine to a twin much easier. The aircraft generates fuel savings of up to 50 per cent compared to conventional Avgas-powered twins and its panoramic canopy provides excellent visibility during all flight manoeuvres.