Diamond DA62

DA52 and DA62
Diamond DA52 prototype on its maiden flight, 3 April 2012, Wiener Neustadt, Austria
Role Twin engine light aircraft
National origin Austria
Manufacturer Diamond Aircraft Industries
First flight 3 April 2012
Introduction October 2015
Status In production (DA62)[1]
Produced 2015-
Number built 25+
Unit cost
€960,000 (US$1.07M), (lower gross weight version)/US$1.25M (increased gross weight version) (2015)[2]
US$1.3M (2016, increased gross weight version)[3]
Developed from Diamond DA50

The Diamond DA62 is a five to seven seat, twin-engined light aircraft produced by Diamond Aircraft Industries and first announced in March 2012.[4][5][6]

The prototype, designated as the DA52, first flew on 3 April 2012 after six months of development.[5][7] In June 2014 it was announced the production aircraft would be designated the DA62.[8][9]

Design and development

The DA62 development team is headed by Diamond managing director Manfred Zipper. It is based upon the fuselage of the single-engine Diamond DA50, but with two Austro AE300 diesel engines burning Jet-A fuel. Company CEO Christian Dries indicated that the engines may be replaced with turboprops.[4][7]

In flying the prototype from Diamond's Wiener Neustadt plant to the 2012 AERO Friedrichshafen aviation trade show, the aircraft achieved 16.6 mpg fuel efficiency, the result of improvements in cooling drag and aerodynamic drag made during its development.[10]

The company originally intended to have the aircraft available for sale in July 2013 and expected to offer fly-by-wire controls as an option by 2014, but development was delayed and those dates were not met.[5][6] The DA62 was European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA)-certified on 16 April 2015.[11][12] By September 2015, the company was preparing to deliver the first production DA62s to customers the following month and was manufacturing the first aircraft destined for the US market the tenth DA52/DA62 to be built and the third production aircraft for an appearance at that year's National Business Aviation Association Convention in November.[2] American Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) certification was received on 23 February 2016[13] [14] The FAA certification came ten months after EASA certification.[13] At the 2016 AERO Friedrichshafen show, Diamond's CEO Christian Dries reported that production would be increased to 60-62 aircraft a year to meet strong demand.[3]

The aircraft is available in two weight versions. The "European" version has five seats and a maximum takeoff weight (MTOW) of 1,999 kilograms (4,407 lb), the "US" version has seven seats and a MTOW of 2,300 kilograms (5,071 lb).[15][16] The lower MTOW of the "European" version is to allow operators to avoid higher weight-based air traffic control user charges.[2] The third row of seating and increased MTOW of the "US" version are available as factory options at extra cost.[15] At the 2016 AERO Friedrichshafen, Christian Dries said a special version with an additional baggage belly pod was under consideration for the air charter market.[3]

Variants

DA52
Prototype, two built.
DA62
Five-seven seat production variant with an extra third window and larger horizontal stabilizer.[9][17]

Specifications (DA62)

Data from Air International[18]

General characteristics

Performance


References

  1. Diamond Aircraft Industries. "Single Engine Aircraft". diamond-air.at. Retrieved 7 November 2015.
  2. 1 2 3 Sarsfield, Kate (22 September 2015). "Diamond readies first DA62 piston twins for delivery". FlightGlobal. Reed Business Information. Retrieved 3 August 2016.
  3. 1 2 3 "Aero: Diamond Says Strong Demand For DA62". avweb.com. Retrieved 25 April 2016.
  4. 1 2 Bertorelli, Paul (17 March 2012). "At Aero, More New Stuff From Diamond". AVweb. Retrieved 14 March 2012.
  5. 1 2 3 Diamond Aircraft (3 April 2012). "Erstflug der neuen DA52 von Diamond Aircraft". Retrieved 5 April 2012.
  6. 1 2 Pew, Glenn (20 April 2012). "Diamond Shares DA52 Maiden Flight Stats". AVweb. Retrieved 23 April 2012.
  7. 1 2 Bertorelli, Paul (3 April 2012). "Diamond Flies Its New DA52". AVweb. Retrieved 5 April 2012.
  8. Reed Business Information Limited. "Diamond's top-of-the-range DA52 becomes DA62". flightglobal.com. Retrieved 27 April 2015.
  9. 1 2 AVweb Staff (4 June 2014). "Diamond Renames The DA52 The DA62". AVWeb. Retrieved 6 June 2014.
  10. Bertorelli, Paul (18 April 2012). "Diamond's DA52 A Centerpiece". AVweb. Retrieved 19 April 2012.
  11. Grady, Mary (16 April 2015). "Diamond DA62 Twin Now EASA-Certified". avweb.com. Aviation Publishing Group. Retrieved 17 April 2015.
  12. "Diamond Aircraft DA62 receives EASA Certification". Diamond Aircraft. Retrieved 27 April 2015.
  13. 1 2 "New Diamond Twin Snags FAA Certification". Flying Magazine. Retrieved 2016-02-26.
  14. "Diamond DA62 FAA Certified!" Diamond Aircraft Industries Retrieved 2016-2-26
  15. 1 2 Pope, Stephen (3 December 2015). "We Fly: Diamond DA62". Flying Magazine. Retrieved 3 August 2016.
  16. "EASA Type Certificate Data Sheet No. EASA.A.005: Diamond DA 42 and variant [sic]; For models: DA 42, DA 42 M, DA 42 NG, DA 42 M-NG, DA 62 [sic]; Issue 31" (PDF). 1 July 2016. Retrieved 3 August 2016.
  17. "Five-Seat Diamond DA-62 Twin Revealed". 1 March 2015.
  18. Unwin 2015, p. 72.
  19. 1 2 "DA62 - More of the Best". Diamond Aircraft. Retrieved 25 July 2015.

External links

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