DA42 Twin Star

The Diamond DA42 Twin Star is a four-seat twin-engine light aircraft developed and manufactured in Austria and Canada by Diamond Aircraft Industries, a subsidiary of China-based Wanfeng Aviation since 2017. Certified by EASA in April 2004 and by the FAA in July 2005, it was Diamond's first twin-engine design and the first new European twin in its category in over 25 years. In August 2004 a DA42 flown by Gérard Guillaumaud became the first diesel-powered fixed-wing aircraft to cross the North Atlantic non-stop, taking 12.5 hours at an average fuel consumption of 21.73 litres per hour. Military and government operators use the type primarily for aerial surveillance.

Development

Company founder Christian Dries proposed the twin-engine concept in the late 1990s as the next step beyond the DA40, emphasising simple operation, fuel efficiency and a four-seat cabin. Production was suspended in July 2008 after the insolvency of engine supplier Thielert; at that point the DA42 held roughly 80% of the piston twin market. EASA certification of the Austro Engine AE 300 in March 2009 allowed production to resume as the DA42 NG, with the first aircraft delivered to a Swedish customer in April 2009 and FAA certification following on 9 April 2010. In June 2010 an AE 300-powered DA42 became the first aircraft publicly flown on algae-derived jet fuel. By March 2012 two-thirds of Diamond's revenue came from military and government contracts. A fly-by-wire development with envelope protection, turbulence righting and autoland was announced in March 2012 and flew autonomously in 2015. In July 2018 Rossiyskaya Gazeta reported a DA-42B UAV variant armed with the 9M120 Ataka anti-tank missile.

Design

The DA42 is a low-wing cantilever monoplane with retractable tricycle landing gear and a T-tail. The airframe uses carbon fibre reinforced polymer throughout, including the main wing spars. Avionics centre on a Garmin G1000 glass cockpit with two flat-panel displays and a row of standby instruments, a GFC 700 three-axis autopilot and GWX 70 weather radar. Early aircraft used two Thielert TAE 125-01 Centurion 1.7 engines, replaced from early 2007 by the 2.0-litre TAE 125-02-99, both rated at 101 kW (135 hp). The DA42 NG uses the 125 kW (168 hp) Austro AE 300 turbo diesel with FADEC, burning 12.1 litres per hour at maximum endurance; a Lycoming IO-360 option is available. Endurance reaches 13 hours without auxiliary tanks. Single-engine climb is up to 270 ft/min at sea level; the left engine is critical.

Operational History

Diamond delivered 17 DA42 MPPs in 2008. Two Royal Air Force DA42 MPPs deployed for eight months in late 2008 and early 2009 in support of coalition forces in Iraq, flying a combined 2,000 hours with Cineflex high-definition cameras, Riegl laser scanners and Scotty satellite communications. Military operators include Argentina, Ghana, Jamaica, Niger, Poland, Russia (FSB and 35 DA42T ordered by the Ministry of Defence), Rwanda, Armasuisse, Thailand, Turkmenistan, Ukraine and Venezuela. Civil users include Lufthansa Aviation Training and Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University with 31 aircraft.

Variants

• DA42: Original Thielert-powered production aircraft built in Austria and Canada.
• DA42 NG: Austro Engine AE 300 version certified by EASA in 2009, FAA in 2010 and Transport Canada in 2012.
• DA42 MPP: Multi Purpose Platform for aerial sensing, mapping and surveillance, selected by the UK Ministry of Defence.
• Dominator II: Aeronautics Defense Systems UAV derivative, first flown July 2009, with 28-hour endurance and 408 kg payload.
• DA42-VI: Introduced March 2012 with new propeller and revised rudder and engine cowling.