Ken Harness Tasked With Assisting D-Jet Certification

Confirming rumors we've heard over the past few days, on Thursday Diamond Aircraft announced the planemaker recently appointed Ken Harness as Chief Operating Officer for Diamond's North American operations. Harness will oversee engineering, flight test, manufacturing and quality for all Diamond aircraft at the company's facility in London, Ontario, including the new Diamond D-Jet and the full line of piston aircraft.

Diamond tell ANN Harness brings over 18 years of aviation leadership experience to Diamond. He joins Diamond from Eclipse Aviation, where as Vice President Engineering he led an engineering team through certification and initial deliveries of the Eclipse 500 very light Jet. Prior to Eclipse, he held engineering management positions at United Technologies and Williams International... and before that, Harness was an aviation company commander and helicopter test pilot in the US Army.

"We are excited that Mr. Harness is joining our team. His in-depth and broad engineering experience, along with his strong leadership skills will support our efforts to simultaneously bring the D-Jet to market next year while continuing the development and quality production of our full line of piston aircraft," said Peter Maurer, President of Diamond Aircraft and D-Jet Corporation.

"Diamond Aircraft is one of the most exciting companies in the general aviation industry today. They have clearly demonstrated the ability to bring innovative new products to the market quickly -- across a broad range of applications, from two-seat trainers to the D-Jet," said Harness. "I am very excited about the opportunity to lead the development, certification and production ramp up for the D-Jet next year while continuing the production efforts on the other great Diamond products, including DA20, DA40, DA42, and the new DA50."

Harness earned his BS in Aviation Technology from Purdue University, and MBA at Oakland University. Mr. Harness also holds A&P certification as well as being a commercial instrument rated pilot in single and multi-engine airplanes and helicopters.

FMI: www.diamondaircraft.com