Subsequent to the base certification of the DA42 Twin Star which was granted on May 13th, 2004, the IFR (Instrument Flight Rules) certification of the first twin-engined aircraft with state of the art technology could be concluded successfully after only 7 months of engineering and certification work. The aircraft is equipped with turbo diesel engines (Thielert Centurion 1.7) and a fully integrated cockpit (Garmin G1000).

Christian Dries, CEO of Diamond Aircraft: "Thanks to the committed cooperation between the EASA (European Aviation Safety Agency), the Austrian airworthiness authority Austro Control and the Diamond Aircraft employees, a trend-setting project could be realized in a record time of 2 years, measured from the maiden flight of the proof-of- concept on December 9th, 2002 until the IFR certification on December 17th, 2004. The most up-to-date fiber composite materials, turbo diesel technology and a fully integrated glass cockpit are 3 criteria which have found their way into a novel aircraft concept."

The certification is the starting signal for production of the IFR-equipped aircraft. The first deliveries will take place in January 2005. More than 470 DA42 Twin Stars have already been ordered worldwide.

The DA42 Twin Star is a twin-engined, four-seated passenger aircraft made from carbon composite material with two turbo diesel engines. With the standard tank (52 US gal) and a remarkably low fuel consumption the range is 780 NM (1,445 km) to 1,700 NM (3,148 km), depending on the power setting. With the optional 74 US gal tank, the range values are accordingly higher.

The DA42 Twin Star was the first diesel-powered general aviation aircraft in history which crossed the Atlantic ocean non-stop.

   
Before take off in Wiener Neustadt