Photo by Heinz Zeggl

Austria-based Diamond Aircraft has come a long way to have such a major presence at EAA AirVenture. Having first entered the North American general aviation market with only its two-seat DA20 Katana, the company’s lineup now boasts a full selection of piston singles and a twin, from a motorglider to the DA42 Twin Star. Now, with yesterday’s formal unveiling of the recently announced DA50 Super Star, Diamond appears poised to give manufacturers like Cirrus and Columbia a little more competition.

Aimed at the serious owner-flown and light-charter markets, Diamond’s DA50 promises to be a comfortable, well-appointed piston single, competing against the Cirrus SR22 and Columbia 300 and 400 for customers. Diamond’s design builds on the premise that there’s a need for high-tech, all-composite airplanes seating more than four people. The company’s answer is the five-seat Super Star, initially powered by a Teledyne Continental Motors (TCM) TSIOF-550-J engine hammering out 350 turbocharged horsepower and turning a three- or four-blade constant-speed propeller.

Diamond, which has a full-size mock-up of the DA50 sporting a four-blade MT all-composite prop at its booth outside Exhibit Hangar C, says the prototype is already being test-flown at the company’s European facilities. The company expects to obtain EASA type certification in late 2008, with FAA paperwork to follow and first U.S. deliveries beginning in late 2009. The plane will carry a base price of around $600,000, but the exact mix of standard and optional equipment hasn’t been settled. A fully equipped Super Star could include TKS ice protection, an airframe parachute, seat-back mounted video entertainment screens, air conditioning, and long-range fuel. The airplane will cruise at least 200 mph; standard fuel capacity allows a 900-nm range.

But the DA50’s main feature—and the one Diamond hopes will excite customers—is its extra-wide cabin. At 52 inches, the Super Star’s passenger compartment is designed to maximize comfort, allowing room for all five persons it can carry aloft. Up front, a three-screen Garmin G1000 provides the primary and multi-function displays with an overhead mounting of all switches and circuit breakers cleaning up the instrument panel. A large amount of wood-grain paneling and inserts along with leather-covered seating help make the Super Star’s interior more luxurious.

Never having been a company to shy away from exploring new powerplants, Diamond also added it will offer the Super Star in a lower-weight version powered by an unspecified 170-hp turbocharged diesel engine. Other engines are also a possibility, somewhere within the horsepower range posed by the diesel and the FADEC-controlled TCM TSIO-550-J. But owners will want the TCM engine to maximize their load-hauling ability. Diamond says the diesel version definitely won’t have the avgas version’s 3,560-pound maximum gross weight.

The company’s efforts to bring other aircraft to the marketplace continue this year, with the second Diamond D-Jet—the first was unveiled last year at AirVenture—having been rolled out of its Austrian birthplace earlier this month. And the award-winning DA42 Twin Star continues to attract customers, along with other single-engine offerings. In all, Diamond’s huge presence at AirVenture is a major vote of confidence in the North American market for general aviation airplanes, one its customers have recognized and rewarded.