Diamond Aircraft Unveils DA50 Turbine Single

Stephen Pope

Thursday, April 25, 2013 at 09:43 PM ET

Verified

Key Takeaways:

Diamond Aircraft revealed a mockup of its DA50 Turbine at Aero Friedrichshafen, an upgraded single-engine aircraft powered by a 450 shp AI-450S turbine engine.
This signals Diamond's renewed strategic focus on propeller airplanes, following the shelving of its D-Jet project due to a lack of financing.
The company is also progressing with other propeller models like the DA40 XLT, DA42, and DA52, and has rehired staff, indicating a resurgence in its prop aircraft division.

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Diamond Aircraft is showing an intriguing mockup of the DA50 Turbine at the Aero Friedrichshafen show in Germany this week. The proposed model would be an upgraded version of Diamond’s developmental DA50 Magnum piston single, with power coming from a 450 shp AI-450S turbine engine built by Ukrainian company Motor Sich JSC.

Diamond is showing off the airplane and engine in a proof-of-concept mockup that preserves the sleek lines of the originally announced DA50 but with a stretched nose to accommodate the turbine engine. Price and performance numbers have not been announced.