First Flights For Nextant, Diamond
Diamond Aircraft’s single-engine turboprop prototype completed its maiden flight in January, in Austria. The DA50-JP7 seats seven and is powered by a fuel-efficient Ukrainian-built 465 hp AI-450S engine. Diamond plans to also offer a Tundra version of the aircraft, featuring beefed-up wheels and landing gear. Certification is expected in the second half of 2016. Also in January, Nextant Aerospace announced the first test flight of its remanufactured G90XT design. The project, which launched about a year ago, matches a refurbished King Air C90A with the new GE H75 engine, a Garmin G1000 cockpit, electronic engine controls, dual-zone air conditioning, and many more upgrades. Certification and first delivery are expected in the second quarter of this year.
The FAA has withdrawn a rule that would have allowed greater use of simulators for instrument training because two people thought it was a bad idea. The agency issued the final rule in December, allowing up to 20 hours (doubling the previous maximum of ten) on an approved training device toward an instrument rating. The FAA issued the rule as a “direct to final rule” with no preliminary request for public comment. Under the rules about rules, if anyone complains about such a rule after the fact, it has to be rescinded. In this case, two people who commented after the rule was posted opposed it, so the agency has to start over and re-post the rule before it can be approved and enacted.
