The Diamond DA62 is a five- to seven-seat, twin-engine

light aircraft A light aircraft is an aircraft that has a maximum gross takeoff weight of or less.Crane, Dale: ''Dictionary of Aeronautical Terms, third edition'', page 308. Aviation Supplies & Academics, 1997. Light aircraft are used as utility aircraft co ...

produced by

Diamond Aircraft Industries Diamond Aircraft Industries is a Chinese-owned manufacturer of general aviation aircraft and motor gliders, based in Austria. It is the third largest manufacturer of aircraft for the general aviation sector, and has manufacturing facilities i ...

and first announced in March 2012. The prototype, designated as the DA52, first flew on 3 April 2012 after six months of development. In June 2014 it was announced the production aircraft would be designated the DA62.

Design and development

The DA62 development team is headed by Diamond managing director Manfred Zipper. It is based upon the

fuselage The fuselage (; from the French ''fuselé'' "spindle-shaped") is an aircraft's main body section. It holds crew, passengers, or cargo. In single-engine aircraft, it will usually contain an engine as well, although in some amphibious aircraf ...

of the single-engine

Diamond DA50 The Diamond DA50 is a five seat, single-engine, composite aircraft designed and built by Diamond Aircraft Industries. First shown in 2006, it made its maiden flight on 4 April 2007. The project has been proposed to be powered by several differ ...

, but with two Austro AE300 Diesel engines burning Jet A fuel. Company CEO Christian Dries indicated that the engines may be replaced with

turboprop A turboprop is a turbine engine that drives an aircraft propeller. A turboprop consists of an intake, reduction gearbox, compressor, combustor, turbine, and a propelling nozzle. Air enters the intake and is compressed by the compressor. ...

s. In flying the prototype from Diamond's

Wiener Neustadt Wiener Neustadt (; ; Central Bavarian: ''Weana Neistod'') is a city located south of Vienna, in the state of Lower Austria, in northeast Austria. It is a self-governed city and the seat of the district administration of Wiener Neustadt-Land Distr ...

plant to the 2012

AERO Friedrichshafen AERO Friedrichshafen is a trade show dedicated to European general aviation. It is held yearly in April on the shores of Lake Constance at the exhibition center of Friedrichshafen, Germany right next to Friedrichshafen Airport Friedrichshaf ...

aviation trade show, the aircraft achieved 16.6 mpg (14.2 litres/100 km) fuel efficiency, the result of improvements in cooling drag and aerodynamic drag made during its development. The company originally intended to have the aircraft available for sale in July 2013 and expected to offer

fly-by-wire Fly-by-wire (FBW) is a system that replaces the conventional manual flight controls of an aircraft with an electronic interface. The movements of flight controls are converted to electronic signals transmitted by wires, and flight control ...

controls as an option by 2014, but development was delayed and those dates were not met. The DA62 was

European Aviation Safety Agency The European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) is an agency of the European Union (EU) with responsibility for civil aviation safety. It carries out certification, regulation and standardisation and also performs investigation and monito ...

(EASA)-certified on 16 April 2015. By September 2015, the company was preparing to deliver the first production DA62s to customers the following month and was manufacturing the first aircraft destined for the United States market — the tenth DA52/DA62 to be built and the third production aircraft — for an appearance at that year's

National Business Aviation Association The National Business Aviation Association (NBAA) is a non-profit, 501(c)(6) organization based in Washington, DC, United States. NBAA’s mission, according to the non-profit data and transparency organization GuideStar, is: “to foster an en ...

Convention in November. American

Federal Aviation Administration The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) is the largest transportation agency of the U.S. government and regulates all aspects of civil aviation in the country as well as over surrounding international waters. Its powers include air traffic ...

(FAA) certification was received on 23 February 2016 The FAA certification came ten months after EASA certification. At the 2016 AERO Friedrichshafen show, Diamond's CEO Christian Dries reported that production would be increased to 60–62 aircraft per year to meet strong demand. The aircraft is available in two weight versions. The "European" version has five seats and a

maximum takeoff weight The maximum takeoff weight (MTOW) or maximum gross takeoff weight (MGTOW) or maximum takeoff mass (MTOM) of an aircraft is the maximum weight at which the pilot is allowed to attempt to take off, due to structural or other limits. The analogous ...

(MTOW) of , the "US" version has seven seats and a MTOW of . The lower MTOW of the "European" version is to allow operators to avoid higher weight-based

air traffic control Air traffic control (ATC) is a service provided by ground-based air traffic controllers who direct aircraft on the ground and through a given section of controlled airspace, and can provide advisory services to aircraft in non-controlled airs ...

user charges. The third row of seating and increased MTOW of the "US" version are available as factory options at extra cost. At the 2016 AERO Friedrichshafen, Christian Dries said a special version with an additional baggage belly pod was under consideration for the

air charter Air charter is the business of renting an entire aircraft (i.e., chartering) as opposed to individual aircraft seats (i.e., purchasing a ticket through a traditional airline). Regulation Charter – also called air taxi or ad hoc – flights ...

market. By April 2019 more than 120 DA62s had been delivered. Aircraft are built in both Austria and Canada.

Operational history

Notable owners include German Leader of the Opposition

Friedrich Merz Joachim-Friedrich Martin Josef Merz (born 11 November 1955) is a German lawyer and politician, serving as Leader of the Christian Democratic Union (CDU) since 31 January 2022 and as leader of the Union parliamentary group as well as the Leader o ...

, who, controversially flew to the wedding of

Minister of Finance A finance minister is an executive or cabinet position in charge of one or more of government finances, economic policy and financial regulation. A finance minister's portfolio has a large variety of names around the world, such as "treasury", " ...

Christian Lindner Christian Wolfgang Lindner (born 7 January 1979) is a German politician of the Free Democratic Party (FDP) serving as the Federal Minister of Finance since 8 December 2021. He has been the party leader of the liberal FDP since 2013 and a Mem ...

in July 2022, claiming that the DA62 consumed less fuel than official limousines. Media fact checking disputed that claim.

Variants

;DA52 :Prototype, two built. ;DA62 :Five–seven seat production variant with an extra third window and larger horizontal stabilizer. ;DA62 MPP :"Multi-Purpose Platform" variant intended for law enforcement, search and rescue, and surveillance operations.

Specifications (DA62)

References

External links

*
Official company first flight video

AVWeb video about DA52 development shot at Aero 2012

AVWeb video about the DA52 from May 2013

AVWeb video about the DA62 from NBAA in November 2015

We Fly: Diamond DA62
(Pilot Report) {{Diamond Aircraft 2010s Austrian civil utility aircraft DA52 Low-wing aircraft T-tail aircraft Aircraft first flown in 2012 Diesel-engined aircraft Twin piston-engined tractor aircraft