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Diamond Aircraft Plans To Double Airplane Production

Multi Engine Training Airplane

Diamond Aircraft, an airplane manufacturer that builds popular training and general aviation airplanes, has announced plans to double airplane production in 2019.

The increased production means the manufacturer will be delivering 150 airplanes per year worldwide. To accomplish this, Diamond has plans to hire 200 additional employees in Austria and Canada.

The job opportunities in Austria will be in research & development, sales, and administration. The new jobs in Canada will be focused more on “skilled trades.”

“In 2018 we added more than 100 employees in Austria,” says Liqun Zhang, CEO of Diamond Aircraft Austria. “We are planning to increase our staff capacity from more than 600 to 800 for 2019.”

Diamond Aircraft Owned by Wanfeng Aviation Industry

Diamond Aircraft Manufacturing Diamond Aircraft was recently purchased by Wanfeng Aviation Industry Co., Ltd.

The new owner of Diamond Aircraft is itself a subsidiary of Wanfeng Auto Holdings Group, which is a Chinese based company employing over 12,000 employees in six industrial sectors.

Mr. Christian Dries, former CEO of Diamond Aircraft said: “Diamond is my life’s work. In the interest of a successful long term future, we needed to find the right partner to continue our good work. Wanfeng and specifically Mr. Bin Chen share my vision of the future of general aviation and are investing for the right reasons, with a long term strategy and the resources to see their vision through. I look forward to seeing Diamond develop further and based on our successful year long partnership in Diamond Canada, I am fully satisfied that I leave Diamond in very good hands.”

“We were attracted to Diamond’s leadership position in the market”, said Mr. Bin Chen, Chairman of Wanfeng Aviation Industry and President of the Wanfeng Auto Holding Group. “Under the 25-year leadership of founder Mr. Christian Dries, the Diamond team has developed a broad range of superb aircraft that have gained worldwide respect for their performance, efficiency, safety and innovation. Based on this excellent foundation, we intend to take Diamond to a long term leadership position in worldwide general aviation.

After investing in Diamond Aircraft Wanfeng Aviation Industry said that it was adding the research and technological talent of Diamond Austria and Austro Engine GmbH where it will continue to develop new technologies and aircraft models, including the Dart turboprop aerobatic trainer and the DA50 models.

Wenfeng said it intends for “Diamond Austria to remain a Global Engineering Service Platform supporting worldwide aircraft manufacturing centers by licensing advanced technologies which only help progress the global general aviation market.”

Diamond Aircraft Airplanes

Diamond Aircraft creates a range of airplanes for general aviation. Several of their models are popular in flight training with the manufacturer being among the leaders in supplying new airplanes to flight schools.

Diamond DA20-C1

Diamond Aircraft DA20 The DA20-C1 is the current production model of the companies long running successful two-seat composite line. The airplane has long been popular as a low-cost trainer.

The airplane is powered by a 125 hp (93 kW) Continental IO-240-B engine and comes equipped with a stripped down version of modern Garmin avionics.

Diamond DA40 XLT

The DA40 XLT is the most recent version of the companies long-running four-seat airplane. The aircraft was created to appeal to both owner-operators and for flight training.

The DA40 XLT variant was introduced in 2013 as a refined version of the airplane with an upgraded interior. The airplane is powered by a Lycoming IO360M1A engine which produces 180hp. The airplane is equipped with the G1000NXi flight deck and GFC700 Automatic Flight Control System.

Diamond DA40 Tundra

Diamond Aircraft DA40 Tundra The DA40 Tundra is a variant of the DA40 which features strengthened landing gear, larger tires and is intended for off-airport operations.

The airplane is powered by a turbocharged Austro AE300 jet-fuel piston engine which produces 170hp. The Tundra variant is equipped with the same avionics as the XLT variant.

Diamond DA40 NG

The DA40 NG is similar to the DA40 XLT variant except that it is powered by a turbocharged Austro AE300 jet-fuel piston engine which produces 170hp.

Diamond DA42-VI

The DA42-VI is the most recent variant of the airplanes popular four-seat twin-engine airplane. The airplane is popular with government and military operators, with owner-flown operators, and with flight schools. The DA42 is one of the most popular new-built twin-engine flight training airplanes on the market.

The DA42-VI is powered by two turbocharged Austro AE300 jet-fuel piston engine which produce 170hp each. The airplane is equipped with the Garmin G1000NXi flight deck and comes standard 3-axis GFC700 Automated Flight Control System. The airplane can be equipped with an optional TKS Ice Protection system for flight into known icing conditions.

Diamond DA62

Diamond Aircraft DA62 The DA62 is the newest airplane in Diamond’s aircraft line. The airplane is a 7-seat twin-engine airplane that is intended to be a multi-use utility airplane. The company intends for the airplane to fill the gap in the general aviation market between high performance single pistons and entry level turboprops.

The DA42-VI is powered by two turbocharged Austro AE330 jet-fuel piston engine which produce 180hp each. The airplane is equipped with the Garmin G1000NXi flight deck and comes standard 3-axis GFC700 Automated Flight Control System. The airplane can be equipped with an optional TKS Ice Protection system for flight into known icing conditions. Other available options include an electric air conditioning system, and an integrated oxygen system.

Greg started his professional pilot journey in 2002 after graduating from Embry Riddle. Since that time he has accumulated over 8,000 hours working as a pilot. Greg’s professional experience includes flight instructing, animal tracking, backcountry flying, forest firefighting, passenger charter, part 135 cargo, flying for a regional airline, a national low cost airline, a legacy airline, and also working as a manager in charge of Part 135 and Part 121 training programs.

Greg Thomson