The Air Force has selected Diamond Aircraft to provide the aircraft and Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University to provide instruction for an initial training program for cadets at its Colorado Springs Academy. Under the terms of the contract, the Academy will lease a fleet of specially modified Continental-powered Diamond DA-20C1s. The fleet will start out at 14 aircraft and grow to 35 by the end of next year. For its part, Embry-Riddle will provide 50 hours of training for cadets, leading to a private pilot’s license.
The Academy suspended its training program four years ago after a spate of engine failures and a trio of fatal crashes with the former trainer, the Slingsby T-3 Firefly. The academy essentially mothballed the Slingsby trainers, saying that it had been unable to find a satisfactory solution to the airplane’s engine stoppage problems.
