Story ID: 
Diamond D-Jet Flies with Upgraded Williams Engine
By: Chad Trautvetter
Caption: On Sunday, Diamond Aircraft flew its D-Jet for the first time with the new Williams International FJ33-5A engine (formerly designated FJ33-19), the product
Word Count: 207
On Sunday, Diamond Aircraft flew its D-Jet for the first time with the new Williams International FJ33-5A engine (formerly designated FJ33-19), the production powerplant for the single-engine personal jet. D-Jet S/N 003–the first production-conforming copy of the airplane now that the -5A has been installed–was flown by chief test pilot Daniel Ribeiro and flight test engineer Gerard Struthers. The jet lifted off from Diamond Aircraft’s London, Ontario facility for a 1.4-hour flight and met “all intended test points,” the company said. “This is an important milestone for the D-Jet program as we will be using this and subsequent aircraft for actual certification flights,” said Diamond Aircraft president Peter Maurer. Following Diamond’s decision in March to upgrade from the FJ33-15 to the FJ33-5A, S/N 003 was reconfigured to accept the new engine, with new engine inlets and fairings, as well as other detail aerodynamic modifications, including production-version winglets. Although the D-Jet will be certified initially with a derated version of the FJ33-5A, the configuration is designed to accept the higher thrust rating that Williams International plans to release in the future. The D-Jet is expected to be certified in the second quarter of next year.