The recently unveiled Diamond D-Jet will be making a highly visible appearance at Oshkosh later today, Wednesday. Following its arrival at Wittman Field, the Prototype D-JET, S/N 001, will be available for close inspection for one day only on Wednesday, July 26th, at AeroShell square. The aircraft is scheduled to arrive at 10:00 local time with a Press Briefing at 10:30. The D-JET will depart at 2pm, in order to open the day's airshow.

If you miss the bird itself, visitors are invited to find out more about the D-JET with a visit to Diamond's booth at AirVenture Main Aircraft Display Area Combo L through July 30th to view and "fly" an exact mockup of the D-Jet fuselage.

D-JET S/N 001 has now logged over 30 hours flight time and has embarked on an aggressive flight test program. Touted as creating a new market segment in personal aviation, the D-JET has been optimized for flight at lower altitudes. The D-JET comes fully equipped with a 5 seat luxury leather interior and features the largest available dual Primary Flight Displays (12" PFD) and enormous centrally mounted 15" Multifunction Display (MFD), Garmin's GFC 700 fully integrated automatic flight control system, glare shield mounted autopilot controller and a center console mounted FMS controller. The system features dual AHRS, dual magnetometers, dual GPS, dual Com, dual Nav, Mode S transponder, and dual audio panels for the ultimate in convenience and redundancy.

Since the first announcement in 2003, the D-JET has grown in cabin volume, engine thrust, useful load, fuel capacity, and equipment level to its current configuration. Most features and equipment, originally extra cost options, have now been packaged into the D-JET for an all inclusive price of $1.38 million (July 2006 economics).

"We have observed that new aircraft customers typically select all available equipment, for enhanced capability, convenience and safety," said Peter Maurer, President of Diamond Aircraft Industries. "As opposed to certifying a base aircraft and following with additional equipment certifications later, we have decided to complete initial certification in what we expect to be the most desired configuration, especially by our North American customers. The published list price has been adjusted to reflect over three years worth of inflation since announcement, in addition to the inclusion of the additional equipment, increased thrust and useful load.

Comparing comfort, practical performance and capability, there is no other aircraft that matches the value of the D-JET. After we bring the fully equipped version to the market, we will also certify the lower cost, less equipped and lower weight version of the D-JET, especially for the European market".

FMI: www.diamondaircraft.com