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Diamond Aircraft D-JET

Type (Muster)
Single-engine light business jet (leichter Geschäftsreisejet)

Country (Land)
Österreich (Austria)

Manufacturer (Hersteller)
Diamond Aircraft Industries
N. A. Otto Strasse 5
2700 Wiener Neustadt
Austria

Phone: 0043-2622/26700-352
Fax: 0043-2622/26700-355
Internet: www.diamondair.com

The flight test work on the D-JET is done in Canada.

General (Allgemeine Angaben)
Crew (Besatzung): 1
Passengers (Passagiere): maximum 4, with 3 on a rear bench type seat and one beside the pilot.

Power plant (Antrieb): 1 x Williams FJ33-4, a scaled derivative of the FJ44 engine family. It incorporates a dual-channel FADEC.
Power (Leistung): 6,22 kN (1,400 lbs) of thrust flat rated to 72 deg F
Fuel consumption: 125 litres per hour

Dimensions (Abmessungen)
Length (Länge): 10,69 m
Height (Höhe): 3,53 m
Span (Spannweite): 11,43 m

Cabin length (Kabinenlänge): 3,5 m
Cabin width (Kabinenbreite): 1,45 m
Cabin height (Kabinenhöhe): 1,37 m

Weights (Massen)
Empty weight (Leermasse): 1300 kg (was 1175 kg earlier)
Fuel (Kraftstoff): 790 kg for US version
Payload with max. fuel (Nutzlast bei max. Kraftstoff): 179 kg for European version (was 245 kg earlier), 230 kg for US version (was 400 kg earlier)
Max. take-off weight (max. Startmasse): below 2000 kg for European operations, around 2300 kg in the US

Performance (Flugleistungen)
Max. cruise speed (max. Reisegeschwindigkeit): 583 km/h (315 kts)
Long range cruise speed (Langstrecken-Reisegeschwindigkeit): 444 km/h (240 ktas)
Approach speed (Anfluggeschwindigkeit): 61 kts (112 km/h)
Rate of climb (Steigrate): 13,3 m/s
Time to climb to 25000 ft (Steigzeit auf 7600 m): 15 min
Operating altitude (Reiseflughöhe): 7600 m (25000 ft)
Take-off roll (Startrollstrecke): around 620 m
Take-off over 15 m (Startstrecke über 15-m-Hindernis): 720 m
Range (Reichweite):
   - 1874 km (1012 NM) for non US-version
   - 2315 km (1251 NM) for US version with NBAA IFR reserves
   - 2502 km (1351 NM) for US-version with four occupants

Costs (Kosten)
In July 2006, Diamond offered the D-JET for an “all inclusive” price of $1.38 million. It said that many items previously on the option list had now been integrated in the series standard.
In 2004, a price of just under one million US-Dollars was mentioned.
800 000 US-Dollars, according to managing director Michael Feinig in January 2003. In March 2003 , a price of 870000 Euros was mentioned.

Customers (Kunden)
D-JET orders had reached over 300 by July 2007.
In the autumn of 2004, Diamond said it holds orders for 123 D-JETS, each backed by a $20,000 deposit.
In early 2003, Diamond Aircraft talked of 500 sales it wants to chalk up until the first flight.
Among known customers are:
Airline Transport Professionals (ATP) has purchased 20 Diamond D-JETs in November 2006
University of North Dakota Aerospace Foundation ordered one at AOPA Expo in October 2007

Remarks (Bemerkungen)
The D-JET is the first jet design by Diamond, aimed at the owner/operator market. It balances big airplane comfort, realistic acquisition and operating cost with practical performance for private pilots, the company says. Diamond has pitched the D-JET against the turboprop-powered Socata TBM700 and New Piper Malibu Mirage as well as the Baron. Main features of the D-JET are:

highly reliable powerplant
integrated glass cockpit for easy piloting. It features the largest available dual Primary Flight Displays (12" PFD) and enormous centrally mounted 15" Multifunction Display (MFD), Garmin's GFC 700 fully integrated automatic flight control system, glare shield mounted autopilot controller and a center console mounted FMS controller. The system features dual AHRS, dual magnetometers, dual GPS, dual Com, dual Nav, Mode S transponder, and dual audio panels for the ultimate in convenience and redundancy.
short runway performance to open up many airports
restriction fo FL 250, which requires lower cabin pressurization and does not expose the occupants to critical high-altitude depressurization.

History (Geschichte)
The D-JET programme was approved by the management of Diamond Aircraft on 20 December 2002. It was revealed on 14 February 2003. At that time, the first flight was announced for mid 2004, with deliveries to start in the second quarter of 2006. Production was targeted at 100 per year.
On 3 September 2003, Diamond Aircraft announced the selection of the Williams International FJ33-4 engine as the power plant for the new D-JET. Diamond was evaluating the Pratt & Whitney Canada PW615 and a Honeywell design based on the LTS101. “We selected the FJ33 because of its demonstrated outstanding performance, its advanced stage of development and because it will be both FAA and JAA certifed in the timeframe needed to support our aggressive development program.” said Christian Dries, Diamond Aircraft CEO. Williams' engineering team will work collaboratively with Diamond's engineering team to design the air inlets and on integration of the engine into the D-JET. Williams will also be providing a "built-up" engine, ready for direct installation into the production aircraft in support of Diamond's lean manufacturing process for the D-JET, it was announced.
In the autumn of 2004 it transpired that first flight has slid about a year to October 2005, with first customer deliveries slated to begin in early 2007.
In June 2005, Diamond Aircraft announced the selection of the Garmin G1000 integrated avionics system for its new D-JET.
The D-JET's split intake for its sole engine has been validated at Williams' facility using a full-scale fuselage. Additionally, the company has completed wind-tunnel testing of a scale model.
After a series of high speed taxi and rotation tests, Diamond's D-JET (SN 001, registration C-GVLJ), lifted off at 17:08 on Tuesday, April 18th, 2006.The test was conducted from the London International Airport, home of Diamond's North American operation. The 1 hour 6 minute test flight was conducted according to test plan with the evaluation of 19 distinct test points. After take off and climb to 12,000 ft, the evaluation of stability and control with flaps and landing gear extended and retracted was conducted successfully.The test speeds ranged from slow flight at 1.1 Vs to 160 kias. Engine and systems operational tests were successfully performed.
After the successful first flight of its D-JET on April 18th, Diamond continued with additional flights on April 19th, 20th and 21st to further expand the speed envelope and continue evaluation of handling characteristics. Diamond CEO, Christian Dries was able to evaluate the jet personally, on its 53 minute 2nd flight on April 19th. Transport Canada and FAA certification were now expected late in 2007.
By the time of the official unveiling at a Diamond Aircraft event on 15 July 2006, the first D-JET had accomplished over 30 flight hours.
On 9 November 2006, Airline Transport Professionals (ATP) purchased 20 Diamond D-JETs and 5 Diamond Flight Training Devices (FTDs). The aircraft and FTDs will be utilized in ATP's Airline Career Pilot Program, and to ensure US-wide availability of training to new D-JET owners.
On Friday, July 20, 2007 Diamond Aircraft celebrated the roll out of D-JET S/N002. S/N002 was completed about four months late so as to conform to the expected production configuration in its structural layout and aerodynamic design. The manufacturer now expected that the D-JET would achieve certification in mid-2008, with deliveries starting immediately thereafter.
At 7:47 on September 14th, 2007, D-JET S/N 002 made its first flight from Diamond's London, Ontario facility. The flight was conducted by Daniel Ribeiro, Chief Test Pilot. Daniel Ribeiro reported: "We had a safe and smooth first flight with S/N 002. During 43 minutes of flight, we checked systems and handling. Airplane handling was as anticipated, with the expected improvements based on the experience with S/N 001 being evident.”
Another three aircraft were in the making for the flight test programme

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Last updated 19 November 2007

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