Will Be Used As Transition Aircraft

At AOPA Expo Friday, University of North Dakota Aerospace and Diamond Aircraft announced the purchase of a D-Jet by UND Aerospace Foundation. The aircraft will be used for air service and flight education to prepare graduates of the John D. Odegard School of Aerospace Sciences at the University of North Dakota for careers in the emerging VLJ and personal jet market.

"Diamond Aircraft and UND have a long-standing relationship, and we are very excited that UND will now be using the D-Jet for their advanced training programs," says Peter Maurer, President of Diamond Aircraft and D-Jet Corporation. "We greatly respect the quality of education and training provided by UND, and look forward to exploring the many exciting opportunities this purchase opens up for cooperation between our organizations."

"We are excited to add the D-Jet to our training fleet. The addition of the D-Jet supports our commitment to leading the industry by staying on the forefront of aviation technology," says Dr. Bruce Smith, Dean of UND's Odegard School. "It is an ideal transition aircraft into the regional airlines when used in conjunction with our level six CRJ 200 Flight Training Device.

"The D-Jet is considered a state-of-the-art aircraft and will complement our existing fleet," Smith added. "We appreciate our relationship with Diamond and look forward to including the D-Jet in our capstone course."

This isn't the first announced light-jet order by UND Aerospace, which includes the Odegard School of Aerospace Sciences at the University of North Dakota and the UND Aerospace Foundation (UNDAF.) Last month, the school ordered a Cessna Citation Mustang, to be used for flight training and on school business.

As ANN reported last November, Diamond received an order for 20 D-Jets from training outfit Airline Transport Professionals (ATP) at AOPA Expo 2006.

FMI: www.diamondair.com, www.aero.und.edu