A little more than three years after being announced, the Diamond D-Jet had its first flight April 18.
Conducted from the London International Airport in Canada, home of Diamond’s North American operation, the first flight lasted one hour and six minutes. The flight was designed to evaluate 19 test points.
After take off and climb to 12,000 feet, the evaluation of stability and control with flaps and landing gear extended and retracted was conducted successfully. Test speeds ranged from slow flight at 1.1 Vs to 160 kias. Engine and systems operational tests were successfully performed.
Following roll rate and lateral directional stability tests and simulated landing at altitude, the jet flew in close formation with a chase aircraft for photo and video recording. A normal landing was performed with a 5 kt crosswind.
“We are absolutely delighted with this flight,” said Christian Dries, Diamond’s CEO, who flew the chase aircraft. “The test flight went exactly as planned. What more could you ask for?”
The D-Jet is a five-place personal jet, powered by the FADEC-controlled Williams FJ33 turbine and equipped with a Garmin glass flight deck.