Virtual Event: Diamond Moves to Electric Aircraft

FIRESIDE CHAT TOPIC: Diamond plans to develop an electric, single-engine trainer.

DETAILS: FLYING’s Thom Patterson talks with Annemarie Mercedes Heinkenwälder about her company’s plans to develop an electric, single-engine trainer. She also discussed the timeline for the DA50RG, the first single-engine retractable in years.

SPEAKER: Heinkenwälder leads sales and marketing for Americas & Oceania at Diamond Aircraft Industries Inc.

BIO: Heikenwälder started her career in aviation in the FBO business where she soon moved to charter sales and aircraft service management. She was recruited by a sales and business development start-up FBO in Saint Hubert, Quebec, shortly after graduating with her Bachelor of Commerce degree in 2013. With her assistance, in only one year, the FBO was nominated among the best FBOs in Canada in the Wings Magazine annual FBO survey. Annemarie was actively recruited by Diamond Aircraft in 2019.

KEY QUOTES FROM HEINKENWÄLDER:

“Diamond just recently announced the eDA40 … first real production da40 aircraft that will be fully electric powered. We expect that this aircraft will have a 90-minute flight time and about a 20-minute quick recharge.

“Our first prototype is currently being worked on. We expect our first flight to happen in the first quarter of next year and then we expect the platform to be certified by 2023.”

“The DA50RG was launched for the North American market at Oshkosh. It flew on its own power across the Atlantic which is a huge milestone for this aircraft. With the fact that it’s a retractable gear aircraft we see better efficiency. The useful load is actually quite high, between 1,100 and 1,200 pounds. … Our first deliveries are scheduled to coincide with the FAA validation, so that’ll be Q3 2022.”

“Diamond is really focused on jet fueled powered piston engines, our proprietary austral engine, to help with cost savings of the fuel and the availability of the fuel.”