The recently unveiled
Diamond D-Jet will be making a highly visible appearance at Oshkosh
later today, Wednesday. Following its arrival at Wittman Field, the
Prototype D-JET, S/N 001, will be available for close inspection
for one day only on Wednesday, July 26th, at AeroShell square. The
aircraft is scheduled to arrive at 10:00 local time with a Press
Briefing at 10:30. The D-JET will depart at 2pm, in order to open
the day's airshow.
If you miss the bird itself, visitors are invited to find out
more about the D-JET with a visit to Diamond's booth at AirVenture
Main Aircraft Display Area Combo L through July 30th to view and
"fly" an exact mockup of the D-Jet fuselage.
D-JET S/N 001 has now logged over 30 hours flight time and has
embarked on an aggressive flight test program. Touted as creating a
new market segment in personal aviation, the D-JET has been
optimized for flight at lower altitudes. The D-JET comes fully
equipped with a 5 seat luxury leather interior and features the
largest available dual Primary Flight Displays (12" PFD) and
enormous centrally mounted 15" Multifunction Display (MFD),
Garmin's GFC 700 fully integrated automatic flight control system,
glare shield mounted autopilot controller and a center console
mounted FMS controller. The system features dual AHRS, dual
magnetometers, dual GPS, dual Com, dual Nav, Mode S transponder,
and dual audio panels for the ultimate in convenience and
redundancy.
Since the first announcement in 2003, the D-JET has grown in
cabin volume, engine thrust, useful load, fuel capacity, and
equipment level to its current configuration. Most features and
equipment, originally extra cost options, have now been packaged
into the D-JET for an all inclusive price of $1.38 million (July
2006 economics).
"We have observed that new aircraft customers typically select
all available equipment, for enhanced capability, convenience and
safety," said Peter Maurer, President of Diamond Aircraft
Industries. "As opposed to certifying a base aircraft and following
with additional equipment certifications later, we have decided to
complete initial certification in what we expect to be the most
desired configuration, especially by our North American customers.
The published list price has been adjusted to reflect over three
years worth of inflation since announcement, in addition to the
inclusion of the additional equipment, increased thrust and useful
load.
Comparing comfort, practical performance and capability, there
is no other aircraft that matches the value of the D-JET. After we
bring the fully equipped version to the market, we will also
certify the lower cost, less equipped and lower weight version of
the D-JET, especially for the European market".