Pratt & Whitney Canada, a business unit of Pratt & Whitney, announced today that Diamond Aircraft has selected the PT6A-25C engine to power its new DART-750 aircraft, an all-carbon-fiber tandem turboprop trainer equipped with state-of-the-art avionics. Diamond Aircraft has been a dynamic player in the General Aviation market for more than 40 years and we welcome the company as the latest airframe manufacturer to realize the tremendous capabilities of the PT6A engine. Pratt & Whitney worked closely with Diamond Aircraft to determine the best powerplant for the DART-750 and believe the PT6A-25C will provide the exceptional pairing customer is looking for.
“We are pleased that Diamond Aircraft has selected the PT6 turboprop, the most popular engine in its class, to pursue its DART program. The selection of the PT6A-25C for the Austrian-designed and manufactured DART-750 acrobatic trainer, further asserts the dependability, versatility, and flexibility of this engine family,” said Nicholas Kanellias, Vice President, General Aviation, Pratt & Whitney Canada.
“The PT6A-25C is a proven engine that is already certified, allowing us to target 2023 for the basic EASA civil certification of the DART-750,” said Liqun (Frank) Zhang, Chief Executive Officer, Diamond Aircraft.
The DART-750 will be a certified all-composite aerobatic turboprop trainer in tandem-seat configuration, equipped with state-of-the-art avionics and a powerful turboprop engine. Based on the DART-750, Diamond is offering a DART Basic Training Solution, comprising the aircraft, a proprietary DART FNPT II Simulator, and DART CBT (Computer Based Training) experience. The DART’s cockpit concept includes a real and fully independent tandem G3000 dual glass cockpit with an extraordinary surround-view canopy. The Garmin G3000 dual glass cockpit features touchscreen control, 14.1-inch diagonal WXGA high-resolution cockpit displays, 5.7-inch high-resolution GTC 575, Synthetic Vision Technology, extended 16:9 width-to-height ratio.
Known for its broad power range, dependability, and proven performance in all flying conditions and environments, the PT6A engine family is in a class of its own having flown more than 425 million hours, building upon the experience gained within the entire Pratt & Whitney Canada fleet at over 900 million flying hours. The PT6A has seen 120 enhancements made in the past 10 years alone, and more than 50,000 engines have been produced; 25,000 of them still fly. The PT6 turboprop is the benchmark in reliability and is considered to be the most versatile turboprop engine in General Aviation, which speaks to its dependable performance in single- and twin-engine aircraft.