Courtesy of Diamond Aircraft
After several months of adversity, the Diamond D-JET program is ready to continue its progress toward certification. Diamond Aircraft has secured the funding required to restart the program, and is in the process of rehiring the engineering and technical staff furloughed earlier this year at the factory in London, Ontario.
Diamond North America’s president Peter Maurer said it is too early to release any details of the funding as the closing arrangements have not been finalized, but he is expecting to bring his staff back within a month. “We need to proceed cautiously and will progressively rehire the staff on furlough. Unfortunately a lot of the crew has taken other jobs,” Maurer said.
Additional support staff at the Austrian facility, staff previously assigned to the recently completed piston engine development for the DA40 NG and DA42 NG, will help get the D-JET program going as quickly as possible.
Maurer said the resumption of flight-testing on the aerodynamically conforming test airplane – the third to be developed for the program – is one of the company’s first priorities. A fourth airplane, which will be the first pressurized test bed, is expected to fly within a year.
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