Diamond Aircraft has made the first flight of its new all-composite twin-engine model, the DA52. First flight, made by Diamond Chairman Christian Dries and Diamond test pilot Ingmar Mayerbuch, went off without a hitch. In fact, after the flight Dries said that the DA52 was “the best prototype aircraft I have ever made a maiden flight with.” He went on to say that the model’s performance “exceeded all my expectations.”
The DA52 — there’s apparently no nickname or tradename for it yet — is based on the fuselage of the as-yet-to-enter production DA50 Magnum (formerly called the Super Star), which is substantially larger than that of the DA40, on which the DA42, formerly called the TwinStar, is based. The DA52 is powered by Diamond’s own Austro AE300 turbo-diesels putting out 180 hp each.
