OSHKOSH—Diamond Aircraft Industries announced FAA certification of its DA 50 RG turbodiesel-powered piston aircraft and celebrated the first delivery to a customer at EAA AirVenture 2023.
Diamond received a DA50 RG FAA validated type certificate at its booth July 25 during a tour with FAA members led by the General Aviation Manufacturers Association.
Diamond Aircraft and Premier Aircraft Sales, its largest U.S. dealer, handed the keys to the first U.S. customer of the aircraft, Jordan Cram.
“This is truly an amazing day,” says Kevin Sheng, Diamond Aircraft Canada CEO. “We are truly fortunate to share this with all our friends here at Oshkosh, AirVenture 2023.”
The all composite five-seat DA50 RG was flown to AirVenture from its factory in Austria by Diamond pilot Thomas Wimmer, based in Austria.
“The excellent fuel economy combined with jet fuel made me feel better about carbon impact, and the balance of function and form is just unparalleled,” Cram says. “We’re going to be up in the air a lot.”
Premier has been a Diamond Aircraft dealer since 2002.
The DA50 RG with retractable gear, is powered by a six-cylinder 300-hp Continental Aerospace Technologies turbo-charged, diesel engine controlled by two Full-Authority Digital Engine Control (FADEC) units. It is equipped with the Garmin G1000NXi flight deck and has a cruise speed of 172 kts.
