Mon, Oct 06, 2008
S/N 003 Now Powered By Williams FJ33-5A
Diamond Aircraft flew its D-Jet for the first time with the new
Williams FJ33-5A engine Sunday.
"This is an important milestone for the D-Jet program as we will
be using this and subsequent aircraft for actual certification
flights," said Peter Maurer, President of Diamond Aircraft.
D-Jet S/N 003, flown by Chief Test Pilot Daniel Ribeiro and
Flight Test Engineer Gerard Struthers, departed from Diamond
Aircraft's London, Ontario facility for a successful 1.4-hour
flight with completion of all intended test points.
Serial number 003, originally powered by the Williams FJ33-15
engine,
first flew on April 14 of this year. Following
Diamond's decision in March 2008 to upgrade from the FJ33-15 to the
FJ33-5A (
formerly designated FJ33-19), S/N 003 was
reconfigured to accept the new engine, with new engine inlets and
fairings. Modifications also included other detail aerodynamic
modifications, including production-spec winglets.
The D-Jet will be certified initially with a derated version of
the FJ33-5A engine... though the configuration is designed to
accept the higher thrust rating that Williams International plans
to release in future, based on the expected successful in-service
experience with the current engine.
"When Williams introduced the new engine, we had to decide
whether to continue with the original FJ33-15 or upgrade to the
FJ33-5A right away, even if it meant a program delay," added
Maurer. "In the interest of all D-Jet owners, we chose to upgrade
to the larger engine and create an optional future performance
upgrade path. This decision has been universally welcomed by our
customers, as it will preserve the value of even the first
delivered aircraft."
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