The final assembly line at Diamond Aircraft’s London, Ontario factory has six stations. You can walk the length of it in minute. For at least the past year, the only engines coming down that line are Jet-A fueled diesel powerplants from Austro and many of those have been the DA40 NG four-place single.
Improbable as it seemed in 2002 when the rollout of the diesel-powered DA42 stunned the Berlin Airshow, Diamond has proven unique among major airframe manufacturers for having not only survived with diesel engines, but thrived.