Keep the Moving Parts Clean

Diamond Aircraft—the Austria-based, Chinese-owned maker of general aviation aircraft with manufacturing facilities in Wiener Neustadt, Austria and London, Ontario, Canada—announced on 21 April 2023 that Panamanian flag carrier Compañía Panameña de Aviación, S.A.—referred to more commonly as Copa Airlines—has inked a firm order for eight specimens of Diamond’s jet-fuel-powered DA40 NG.

Copa Airlines is Diamond’s first customer in Panama.

Copa vice-president for flight operations Bolivar Dominguez stated: "The DA40 NG is one of the most technologically advanced training aircraft on the market and we are excited to partner with Diamond Aircraft Canada and D Aviation Group in Panama to bring it to our Academy (ALAS) to prepare our students for their future as pilots. We continue investing in flight education as we train the next generation of Copa Airlines pilots, who are the future of our airline."

Señor Dominguez added: "These student pilots are receiving world-class flight training at ALAS Academy and I'm looking forward to the day when they join our current Copa Airlines pilots on the flight deck."

Diamond Aircraft CEO Kevin Sheng remarked: “Diamond Aircraft would like to congratulate Copa Airlines on the new aircraft purchase. They will hugely benefit from the most modern piston training aircraft technology available today and Diamond’s operational cost efficiencies as well as low emissions and noise signature.”

Diamond Aircraft’s DA40 NG (Next Generation) is a four-seat low-wing fully-cantilever-winged monoplane constructed primarily of composite materials. The aircraft is simple and robust, and features a fixed tricycle undercarriage and T-tail empennage. The DA40 NG is powered by an liquid-cooled, Austro Engine AE 300 168-horsepower turbo-diesel powerplant capable of running on Jet-A fuel. Mated to the DA40 NG’s stock, three-blade MT propeller, subject mill motivates the aircraft to maximum forward and vertical speeds of 172-knots and 777-feet-per-minute respectively. The engine’s TBO interval is 1,800-hours.

DA40 NG pilots can expect docile stall characteristics from the machine, for which Diamond’s literature lists a Vso stall-speed of 49-knots and a Vs stall-speed of 53-knots.

The DA40 NG’s 2,888-pound maximum gross weight comprises, ostensibly, a 1,938-pound empty weight, a 950-pound useful load, and a 677-pound payload.

Fueled to its 41-gallon (275-pounds) capacity, the DA40 NG manages a 984-nautical-mile range.

The aircraft features Garmin’s G1000 NXi glass cockpit.

Currently, the worldwide fleet of DA40 variants numbers north of 2,500 aircraft.

FMI: www.diamondaircraft.com