As noted in ANN's coverage from this year's eventful (and
exceptionally well-run) AOPA Expo, few companies seemed to be as
aggressive about the GA market as Diamond Aircraft.
In early October, Diamond unveiled their plans for a new DA40
XLS -- a top of the line, loaded model with a new Platinum
Interior, and also intro'ed the DA40 CS as a capable four-place
constant speed version which customers can customize with a range
of options to tailor the plane to their individual needs.
Diamond tells ANN the DA40 XLS retains the advantages of the
DA40 XL -- great visibility, fuel efficiency, and pilot friendly
handling characteristics -- while offering more room under a wider,
higher canopy. Its Platinum leather interior features a long list
of XLS exclusives, including a choice of leather colors,
aluminum-framed genuine wood inlay accents, engraved brushed
aluminum trim, carbon-fiber sill plates and a distinctive metallic
striping package.
"Our DA40 XL has been our most popular model, and the DA40 XLS,
with its enhanced interior, more space, and the VNAV capability of
the GFC700 autopilot with WAAS GPS, is a personal aircraft which
should be on everybody's shopping list," said Heike Larson, Vice
President of Sales and Marketing.
The DA40 CS shares all the strengths of the DA40 XLS, and
enables customers to configure the airplane to their needs,
starting at a competitive base price of $259,950. Customers can
choose the attractive, durable fabric interior, or upgrade to
luxurious leather. Those looking for enhanced cross-country
capabilities can add the Garmin GFC 700 digital autopilot, extended
luggage compartment, performance landing gear and extended range
tanks.
ANN spent some time with the folks at Diamond in looking over
their plans for the DA40 series, while the Aero-TV
crew crawled over and through the newest Diamond in the
sky.
About Aero-TV: It's Just About Show Time!!!!
OK, folks, here we go... as noted (last week) this is the
final ramp-up on the way to the full-time daily news and feature
services we'll be offering from ANN's Aero-TV Network programming.
If you've been an observer of the media and associated media
industries over the last few years, it's not hard to mistake the
fact that a massive revolution is taking place. Old sources for
news and information are falling by the wayside, having to change
their modus operandi or risk obsolescence (or extinction).
Electronic media and print media are both under the assault of
progress, and the online world has been a cornerstone for
revolutionary change.
Nearly 10 years ago, when ANN first took wing, we had a feeling
that things were going to change radically. But, we have to be
honest when we admit that we had no idea how radical and
fundamental the change was going to be -- and most important, how
it was going to affect EVERYONE. Now, more than ever, it's time for
us to step up and out as a radically as we dare (and if you know
us, "radical" is barely the tip of the iceberg... grin), not just
because we can, but because we now have the opportunity to play an
even greater role in reshaping news and information services
for aviation and aerospace, as well as how that information is
related to everyone outside of our Aero-world.
We've been ready to go for a while, but to be honest, there's so
much more to this program than we've alluded to, and a lot more to
learn from it than we can relate without spending hours (literally)
doing so. We've been building and planning a massive new
organization within ANN, we're hiring talented new people as fast
as we can find them (a far more difficult task than we
had imagined -- REALLY good people are hard to find), and we're
brainstorming at speeds that would make a deorbiting Space Shuttle
feel like a slug. Suffice it to say that we want to do this right,
rather than right-now, and that the development of this program has
been the most carefully pursued undertaking we've ever undertaken,
even without the additional complications presented by getting
clobbered by a BIG bounced check and even greater losses from the
Columbia bankruptcy (where we got left holding the bag for tens of
thousands of dollars), as well as the innate complexities of such
an aggressive programming addition.
So; the Aero-TV program starts ramping up... right now. We've
been editing and finishing production on the better part of 100 new
Aero-TV features and are chomping at the bit to show you ALL that
we can do... through the initial Three Phase deployment (yeah, this
project is THAT big) of Aero-TV and an all new ANN. Through the end
of the year, we'll be presenting at least one new program each
week, in addition to other programs that may have aired previously,
in order to make sure that you all get a chance to see what we can
do and offer up your comments and suggestions on our
programming.
Let me be REALLY clear about this... we really do NEED your
input, your story ideas and your critique so that we can not
only craft Aero-TV in a way that benefits you the most, but so that
we can grow this critter in the right and proper way to become what
we know it can be... one of the most powerful aviation information
systems extant. This is the very beginning of a FAR, FAR larger
undertaking... no kidding, so please be sure to clue us in
what you like, what you don't, and what you'd like to see in the
future -- I think you'll be blown away by some of the programming
additions that are already underway and the incredible power and
versatility of this medium...
Mark my words, with all hyperbole set aside and the many kudos
we've gotten over the years, and still get on a daily basis, we
truly do believe that ANN's greatest contributions to the world of
aviation are just ahead of us. Cessna CEO, Jack Pelton, upon being
briefed with just a few of the highlights of ANN 10.0 and Aero-TV,
called this plan, "A game changer."
We couldn't agree more.
E-I-C Note: The complete Piper Matrix
intro/interview is embedded in this story, above, with most of the
slick and useful functionality otherwise available on the main Aero-TV site. The ability to embed a
video on another web page is but one of the hundreds of
amazing little features that we've worked hard on, for many months
now, to implement in different phases of the initial release
of Aero-TV. It is, BY NO MEANS, the only way to enjoy unaltered
Aero-TV programming on other parts of the web... as we have
aggressive plans for future functionality, but this feature allows
those with an interest in a specific Aero-TV News or Feature
program to embed it on a different web site, though we must
note that we reserve the right to forbid such use for those sites
or purposes that we do not feel fit in with the proper mission of
the Aero-News Network, Inc.
Webmasters or Administrators of well-trafficked aviation or
aerospace related sites, are wlecome to contact the Publisher to
start conversations on how they may be able to leverage some of the
immense power of Aero-TV programming for their sites and
constituency by clicking the I Want My
Aero-TV! link.
ANN's Daily Aero-Term (04.24.24): Runway Lead-in Light System
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