Story ID: 382 LABACE
Diamond Dealer Notches Up Seven DA62 Sales
By: Ian Sheppard
Caption: Diamond's exclusive agent in Brazil is selling its new piston twin, and promoting its strengths in modifying aircraft for special missions.
Word Count: 738
The exclusive agent for Austria’s Diamond Aircraft (Static 6108) in Brazil, Aeromot, has brought a new, U.S. N-registered DA62 to São Paulo’s Congonhas Airport for LABACE 2017. Aeromot sales director Filipe Nardi told AIN that since the company started a sales tour with the aircraft last October, it has sold seven. “It’s the first in Brazil, and we have been using it as a demo aircraft,” he said. “We have flown around 300 hours, only within Brazil.”

The first aircraft will be delivered in September, with two further deliveries to other customers to follow this year. “The rest will be in 2018.”

The type received FAA certification in February 2016. With seven-seat, three-row seating, Garmin G1000 NXi integrated flight deck and three-axis GFC700 autopilot and yaw damper, plus FIKI (Flight Into Known Icing) equipment, the aircraft is also extremely efficient with its twin Austro Engines AE330 180-hp piston powerplants. According to Aeromot, the engines burn only 12 gallons per hour total and as they can run on kerosene, the cost is very low (kerosene is half the price of avgas or diesel in Brazil, and diesel quality cannot be relied upon).

Last month, following certification, the Garmin G1000 NXi integrated flight deck was introduced to the company’s entire product line, including for the DA62, DA42-VI/NG and DA40 NG. Diamond was the first manufacturer, in 2001, to commit to the G1000 when it selected the suite for the DA42 Twinstar.

The G1000 NXi has a range of new features including updated graphics, more powerful processors for faster and smoother map rendering, new LED back-lighting and digital moving maps for VFR and IFR. According to the company it is also preparing to provide retrofits.
Special Missions
At the Paris Air Show in June the company debuted the DA62 MPP (Multi Purpose Platform), a sensor-packed surveillance and reconnaissance variant. A belly pod can house a gamma ray spectrometer for measuring radiation levels, while the wingtips can be outfitted with magnetic sensors and the nose boom can host a low-frequency sensor for mineral exploration and/or locating sources of groundwater.

“What makes the solution unique is the fact that [it has] all three types of geophysical sensors,” said Michael Pregesbauer, CEO of Geoprospectors, which makes the sensors. Before Diamond offered its turnkey platforms, customers had to buy sensors independently, integrate them into an aircraft on their own, perform all required calibration, and then learn how to use the equipment, Pregesbauer said.

The DA62 MPP not only comes with installed and fully calibrated sensors, but Diamond also includes complete training and aftermarket support for the aircraft. Pregesbauer noted that while such sensors are sensitive to “noise” sources, the Diamond’s composite construction “gives a good signal-to-noise ratio compared to metal airframes.”

The DA62 MPP is powered by twin turbocharged 180-hp Austro Engine AE330 FADEC-controlled powerplants. In loiter power setting, the two engines burn a combined 7.4 gph, according to the company. It can be operated single-pilot, though all four seats can be filled with flight crew and equipment operators for demanding missions.

Any combination of sensors can be incorporated—a LIDAR camera can be installed in the belly pod rather than a gamma ray detector, for example—and a satcom pod atop the aft fuselage can host additional special-mission hardware.

The in-development DA50, the company’s top-of-the-line general aviation piston single, is on track for EASA certification next year.

Aeromot’s Nardi, who also is a pilot and flies the aircraft for demonstration purposes, said that the company is looking forward to the DA50 as it believes it will be popular in Brazil. He said that the company is also heavily involved in special-mission modifications on aircraft and helicopters, especially police helicopters for Brazilian state governments. It was contracted to outfit all the helicopters for policing the 2014 Rio Olympics and 2014 soccer World Cup. It represents Leonardo Helicopters for government sales.

Nardi added that Aeromot is also selling the DA42/62 MPP aircraft and was able to manage equipment fit and STCs. It does not operate any aircraft or helicopters, but has extensive expertise in maintenance and modifications. Aeromot’s headquarters is at Porto Allegre in the south of Brazil, while its other two main bases are at Brasilia and Belo Horizonte, which is its main base for maintenance.