The new aerobatic trainer from Diamond Aircraft, the DART-750, has made its maiden flight powered by a Pratt & Whitney PT6-A25C turboprop engine. 

The inaugural test flight, piloted by Diamond’s Head of Flight Test Sören Pedersen and Senior Test Pilot Niko Daroussis, lasted 30 minutes during which “all basic manoeuvres including performance and handling checks” were covered. Robert Kremitzer, Diamond’s Head of Design Organisation, explained that “the positive results make [Diamond] confident in moving forward as intended”.  

The civil-certified, all-composite, tandem-seat trainer is equipped with “state-of-the-art Garmin G3000 avionics” and forms part of the DART training solution, comprising the aircraft, a DART FNPT II simulator and DART CBT (computer based training experience). This package is projected to cover all phases of basic training including Ground Based Training Systems (GBTS) and Basic Trainer Aircraft (BTA). 

As was announced in January 2022, the DART-750 will be powered by the 750SHP PT6A-25C turboprop engine from Pratt & Whitney Canada. Diamond describe the PT6A – an engine fleet with more than 440 million flying hours – as a powerplant that has “defined General Aviation for more than 60 years” and considers it the “benchmark in reliability”.