Diamond DA42 Twin Star

what is it?

The Diamond DA42 Twin Star is a four seat, twin engine, propeller-driven airplane developed and manufactured in Austria and Canada by Diamond Aircraft Industries, an Austrian subsidiary of China-based Wanfeng Aviation since 2017. It was Diamond's first twin engine design, as well as the first new European twin-engine aircraft in its category to be developed in over 25 years. In 2004, the DA42 became the first diesel-powered fixed-wing aircraft to perform a non-stop crossing of the North Atlantic.

🔎How to recognise it: 2 piston engines with propellers · 13.6 m wingspan

base stats

• speed 365 km/htop speed
• range 2,250 kmwithout refuelling
• seats 3passengers
• size 1,999 kgmax take-off weight
• built 600made in total

Bars compare against all aircraft: 3,500 km/h, 20,000 km, 850 seats; size and number built on a log scale up to 640 t (An-225) and 45,000 built (Cessna 172).

fun facts

• 🎂First flew 24 years ago, in 2002.
• 🏎️Top speed is 2.8× a car on the Dutch motorway (130 km/h).
• 🚗Wingspan of 13.6 m: about 3 cars parked nose to tail.
• 🌍Range of 2,250 km: 13× Amsterdam to Brussels.

piston: A car-like piston engine turning a propeller: simple and cheap, the classic small plane.

spec sheet

first flight

2002-12-09

introduced

2004

status

in production

number built

600

role

light twin-engined utility and trainer aircraft

origin

🇦🇹 Austria

makers

Diamond Aircraft Industries

engines

2× Austro Engine E4 / Thielert Centurion 1.7

crew

1

passengers

3

length

8.6 m

wingspan

13.6 m

height

2.5 m

max take-off weight

1,999 kg

top speed

365 km/h

cruise speed

326 km/h

range

2,250 km

ceiling

5,486 m

Specs are for the version in the Wikipedia article's specification section. Blank means the sources don't say.