The DART-750, a new all-composite aerobatic trainer from Diamond Aircraft, made its first flight on June 12 at Wiener Neustadt East Airport (LOAN) in Austria.
The DART-750, powered by a 750 hp Pratt & Whitney PT6A-25C powerplant, has already arrived at the Paris-Le Bourget Airport (LFPB), where it will be on static display all week at the Paris Air Show, beginning Monday.
The first test flight clocked in at 30 minutes, piloted by Diamond’s head of flight test Sören Pedersen and senior test pilot Niko Daroussis. The pair took the DART-750 through normal maneuvers, and the new platform met or exceeded expectations.
“This flight marks another major milestone in the DART-750 program and demonstrates the entire team’s hard and excellent work in getting it achieved,” said Robert Kremnitzer, Diamond’s head of the design organization. “The positive results make us confident in moving forward with the program as intended.”
The tandem-seat trainer will be certified on the civilian side under the European Union Aviation Safety Agency, which is expected in 2024. Up front, the DART-750 features the Garmin G3000 integrated avionics suite, familiar to transitioning pilots. The trainer will be supported by a Diamond FNPT II flight simulator and the manufacturer’s proprietary computer-based training (CBT) system. Diamond also supports the in-person training for the aircraft with its Basic Training Solution, including ground-based training and basic aircraft training.
The PT6A series is a proven powerplant system, having logged more than 440 million flight hours across 52,000 engines delivered.