A Glass Act For Diamond

Diamond Aircraft’s Garmin G1000-equipped DA40 has been certified by the FAA. The announcement was made at DiamondFest 2004, the annual gathering of Diamond owners and pilots at the company’s North American headquarters in London, Ontario. CEO Peter Maurer said the G1000 “is a natural for this aircraft” and claims the $229,500 price of the aircraft makes it “the best value all-glass IFR aircraft on the market today.” Maurer said the company plans to deliver G1000-equipped DA40s “at a very accelerated rate” to fill the orders already taken for the planes. Likewise, the runway at Independence, Kan., will be busy with new G1000-equipped Cessna 182s and 206s heading for their new homes in the next few weeks. Cessna had about 100 all-glass aircraft on the ramp in Independence, paid for by customers and waiting for that all-important piece of paper. The certification for Cessnas was announced by the company about 10 days ago. Cessna is holding a ceremony at the plant on Tuesday celebrating the delivery of the first four 182s.