Diamond D-Jet
D-JET | |
---|---|
The second prototype D-jet exhibited at the EAA Convention in July 2010 | |
Role | Very light jet |
National origin | Austria |
Manufacturer | Diamond Aircraft Industries |
First flight | 18 April 2006 |
Status | Development suspended (Feb 2013) |
Number built | 3 prototypes[1] |
The Diamond D-JET is a composite, five-seat, single-engine very light jet developed by Austrian aircraft manufacturer Diamond Aircraft Industries.[2] The intended cost for the aircraft was advertised by the company as being US$1.89 million dollars in March 2009.[3]
Development of the D-JET has been disrupted by funding shortfalls during the
Development
Early development
During 2006,
On 18 April 2006, the
On 9 November 2006, at the
On 20 July 2007, Diamond Aircraft announced the roll out of its second D-JET, serial number 002. Serial number 002 is the first D-JET intended to conform to the expected production configuration in its structural layout and aerodynamic design. D-JET prototype serial number 002 first flew on 14 September 2007. It was joined by D-JET Serial Number 003, which first flew on 15 April 2008.[13]
During February 2008, Diamond announced that the aircraft was to be manufactured in a new facility located in London, Ontario, Canada. At the time, Diamond claimed that total research and development costs for the D-JET were set to be around Cdn$95.2 million and that the plant to construct the type had been anticipated to cost an additional $100 million.[14] This announcement of the manufacturing details came shortly after an announcement by the Government of Canada that it had issued the company with a "Cdn$19.6 million strategic, repayable investment", while the Government of Ontario had separately announced that it had given Diamond Cdn$11 million.[14] The Government of Ontario loan was contingent on a matching loan from the federal Canadian government, however, this was ultimately not approved; this failure to emerge was attributed as having heavily impacted efforts to progress the D-JET programme.[15]
The D-JET was initially to be powered by a single
During October 2008, Canadian charter operator SwiftJet announced that they had ordered five D-Jets with options for ten more. SwiftJet's intention is to offer air taxi service "anywhere and anytime to destinations around the world." At the time, SwiftJet operated a single Dassault Falcon 20 in the charter role.[17][18] During 2010, it was revealed that Diamond was also undertaking development work upon a military trainer variant of the D-JET, which was reportedly intended to be sold for under US$3M; amongst the believed changes intended for the trainer role included the installation of Martin-Baker-built lightweight ejection seats.[19]
Funding shortfalls and suspension
Flight testing and program development was halted in the spring of 2011 as the company lacked funds to proceed. After a failed campaign for federal government support, private investment was found and test flight resumed in September 2011.[20][21][22]
During July 2012, the company announced that 700 hours of flight testing had been completed, during which the prototypes had attained a top speed of
During April 2012, Maurer indicated that other companies had been hiring their laid-off workers, especially engineers. American manufacturer
At the end of April 2011, Maurer issued a public appeal in the
In analyzing the declining of the loan, Joseph D'Cruz of the University of Toronto Rotman School of Management indicated that in his opinion the government made the right decision in turning Diamond down. He said, "It's such a high risk, nobody in their right mind would invest...That particular market for that aircraft is a relatively small market and it's unproven....Could this jet go ahead without government assistance? The answer is a definite 'no,' because it's not viable without the federal government."[29]
During May 2011, Maurer said that he had always considered the Canadian government loans a "long shot" and that the company was looking at other sources of funding to bring the D-Jet to market, including potential Chinese investment. On 14 June 2011, the company announced that it secured private financing from an unnamed source and started recalling its workers, indicating that it would build an extra test aircraft and resume flight testing. Flight testing started again in early September 2011.[20][21][22]
During February 2013, having not located further operational funding after the failed sale of the company to Medrar in 2011, the company laid off the majority of its Canadian staff and suspended work on the D-Jet program, indicating that the company needed to reorganize. By May 2014, work on the D-Jet remained suspended, but the project had not been cancelled.
Design
The Diamond D-JET is a
The D-JET is powered by a single
According to aviation publication
The avionics of the D-JET comprise a
Specifications (D-JET)
Data from Diamond Aircraft[2]
General characteristics
- Crew: one, pilot
- Capacity: four passengers
- Length: 10.7 m (35 ft 1 in)
- Wingspan: 11.5 m (37 ft 9 in)
- Height: 3.6 m (11 ft 10 in)
- Gross weight: 2,320 kg (5,115 lb)
- Fuel capacity: 789.25 kg (1,740 lb)
- Powerplant: 1 × Williams FJ33-4A-19turbofan, 8.5 kN (1,900 lbf) thrust
Performance
- Maximum speed: 583 km/h (362 mph, 315 kn)
- Cruise speed: 444 km/h (276 mph, 240 kn)
- Range: 2,500 km (1,600 mi, 1,300 nmi)
- Service ceiling: 7,600 m (24,900 ft)
- Rate of climb: 8.467 m/s (1,666.7 ft/min)
- Time to altitude: 7,620 m (25,000 ft) in 15 minutes
See also
Aircraft of comparable role, configuration, and era
References
- ^ Transport Canada (12 December 2016). "Canadian Civil Aircraft Register". Retrieved 12 December 2016.
- ^ a b Diamond Aircraft (n.d.). "Djet". Archived from the original on 18 February 2008. Retrieved 14 February 2008.
- ^ D-JET Program Update Archived 20 September 2010 at the Wayback Machine, pg 3. Last accessed 8 August 2009.
- ^ a b Niles, Russ (25 February 2013). "Diamond Lays Off Most Staff, Suspends D-JET". AVweb. Retrieved 2 June 2013.
- ^ a b Durden, Rick (9 May 2014). "Diamond Aircraft Recalling Laid-Off Workers". AVweb. Retrieved 12 May 2014.
- ^ a b "Chinese Firm Buys Majority Interest in Diamond Canada (Updated)". AVweb. 18 December 2016. Retrieved 21 December 2016.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n McClellan, J. Mac. "Flying Diamond's D-Jet." Flying Magazine, 19 November 2009.
- ^ AvWeb Article Diamond D-Jet First Flight By Mary Grady, Newswriter, Editor April 20, 2006
- ^ AvWeb Article Diamond D-Jet To Debut At Oshkosh By Mary Grady, Newswriter Editor May 31 2006
- Diamond Aircraft (n.d.). "Program Update". Archived from the originalon 7 February 2009. Retrieved 19 February 2009.
- ^ "ATP Purchases Fleet of 20 Diamond D-JETs and is Selected by Diamond to Perform D-JET Training". November 2006. Archived from the original on 13 May 2008. Retrieved 5 August 2008.
- ^ "Chartright orders ten Diamond D-JET aircraft for its charter and managed fleet" (PDF). June 2008. Archived from the original (PDF) on 8 July 2011. Retrieved 5 August 2008.
- ^ Aero-News April 16, 2008 Article Diamond's Third D-Jet Takes To The Skies
- ^ a b AvWeb Staff (February 2008). "D-Jet To Be Built In London, Ont". Archived from the original on 26 February 2008. Retrieved 18 February 2008.
- ^ Morrison, Murdo. "Diamond Canada left wondering if government will recognise jewel in its aerospace crown." Flight International, 23 May 2011.
- ^ a b Flying Magazine. Engine Swap for the D-Jet: Program Delayed. June 2008, page 20. Hachette Filipacchi Media.
- ^ Pew, Glenn (October 2008). "Diamond D-Jet Wins SwiftJet Order". Retrieved 6 October 2008.
- ^ SwiftJet (n.d.). "SwiftJet Aircraft". Retrieved 6 October 2008.
- ^ "FARNBOROUGH: Diamond to develop military jet version of D-Jet". Retrieved 25 July 2010.
- ^ a b Niles, Russ (May 2011). "D-Jet Financing Alternatives Explored". AvWeb. Retrieved 26 May 2011.
- ^ a b Niles, Russ (June 2011). "Diamond Secures D-JET Financing". AvWeb. Retrieved 15 June 2011.
- ^ a b Niles, Russ (September 2011). "Diamond Resumes D-JET Testing". AvWeb. Retrieved 5 September 2011.
- ^ "Diamond D-JET coming to EAA AirVenture 2012". Diamond Aircraft. Archived from the original on 25 April 2013. Retrieved 24 July 2012.
- ^ "D-JET Coming To OSH With Something New". Avweb. Retrieved 25 July 2012.
- ^ Pew, Glenn (26 July 2012). "D-JET Progresses Toward "Abused Stalls"". AVweb. Retrieved 28 July 2012.
- ^ Niles, Russ (April 2011). "Diamond Appeals For Loan Support". AvWeb. Retrieved 2 May 2011.
- ^ Maurer, Peter (April 2011). "Diamond isn't just about jobs" (PDF). AvWeb. Archived from the original (PDF) on 8 October 2012. Retrieved 2 May 2011.
- ^ Pew, Glenn (May 2011). "Diamond Funding Decision Imminent?". AvWeb. Retrieved 16 May 2011.
- London Free Press. Retrieved 19 May 2011.
- ^ "Dornier, Diamond To Produce Seastar". AVweb. Retrieved 2 February 2016.