Diamond’s 170-knot twin turbo-diesel DA42 Thursday earned FAA known ice certification, allowing the 12-gallon-per-hour aircraft to more completely utilize its 1,100-nm range. Owners currently operating TKS-equipped DA42s must comply with Diamond Service Bulletin OSB-42-015, Revision 3 or later to get known ice approval. Diamond says it will cover parts and labor (the aircraft will get new placards, updated AFM sections and a TKS system test) for compliance. Diamond’s four-seat DA42 Twin Star flies with FADEC-controlled engines and a G1000 glass cockpit. Heike Larson, vice president of sales and marketing at Diamond Aircraft, put it this way: “The DA42 is an ideal cross-country traveling plane for pilots who want the ability to go direct, over rugged terrain or open water, and who need to be able to fly when CAVU is nowhere to be found, and when the mercury drops below freezing.” Now, says Larson, DA42 pilots “have even more options.”
