Diamond Aircraft Industries
DA42 Twin Star
Multi-engine piston · Multi-engine trainer · 2000s glass era
- Power
- 336 hp
- Cruise
- 197 kt
- MTOW
- 4,407 lb
- Range
- 1215 nm
- Fuel
- Jet-A (diesel piston)
🇺🇸Specs shown in Imperial.
Performance
- Cruise speed (Vc)197 kt
- Never-exceed speed (Vne)188 kt
- Stall (landing config) (Vs0)64 kt
- Climb rate1,370 fpm
- Service ceiling18,000 ft
- Range1,215 nm
- Endurance8 h
- Takeoff roll1,693 ft
- Landing roll1,184 ft
Weights
- MTOW4,407 lb
- Empty weight3,032 lb
- Useful load1,375 lb
- Baggage capacity99 lb
Dimensions
- Wingspan44.3 ft
- Length28.1 ft
- Height8.2 ft
- Cabin width49.2 in
Powerplant
- Engine 1Austro Engine AE 300 — 168 hp · Jet-A · 6.5 gph
- Engine 2Austro Engine AE 300 — 168 hp · Jet-A · 6.5 gph
- Total horsepower336 hp
- Primary fuelJet-A (diesel piston)
- Unleaded pathJet-A piston diesel
Cockpit & avionics
- Cockpit typeglass
- Autopilot commonly availableYes
- Typical packages
- Garmin G1000 NXi (standard on -VI)— modern (current new-build)
- Garmin G1000 (original)— 2004–2017 new-build
- GFC 700 dual-axis autopilot— modern (standard on -VI)
- Training note
The DA42 ships with full G1000 NXi glass and a dual-axis Garmin GFC 700 autopilot as standard. Most ATOs use the type for the entire IR/ME/CPL block, so transition between aircraft within the syllabus is unnecessary; a smaller subset of schools pair the DA42 with a G1000-equipped DA40 single for the fixed-gear single-engine portion of the syllabus to keep cockpit familiarity continuous.
Certification
- RegulatoryEASA CS-23 · FAR Part 23
- Certified rolesNormal category — IFR / day / night · Known icing approved (optional TKS de-ice / anti-ice on -VI)
- IFRYes
- Spin approvedNo
- Aerobatic-categoryNo
- TailwheelNo
- Complex (FAR 61.31)Yes
- High-performance (FAR 61.31)No
Why is the DA42 Twin Star popular?
Structured popularity-driver evidence. Each axis below carries one factual statement; we don't grade, the facts speak.
Fuel future-proofing
Twin Austro Engine AE 300 diesels burn Jet-A — same fuel as the school's turbine fleet — and insulate the multi-engine training block from the FAA EAGLE / California UNL94 lead-fuel transition timeline.
Industry network effects
Dominant ME/IR airframe at integrated EASA ATOs across Germany, Austria, the Netherlands, France, the UK, and the Nordics.
Pedagogy and handling
FADEC single-lever power control on each engine simplifies engine handling for ab-initio multi-engine students versus a conventional throttle / prop / mixture twin; full Garmin G1000 NXi glass with GFC 700 autopilot is standard equipment, not optional.
Operating economics
Published fuel burn around 6.5 gph per engine in cruise gives the DA42-VI one of the lowest direct fuel costs of any modern multi-engine trainer; Austro AE 300 has an EASA-approved TBR of 2,000 hours.
Regulatory fit
Retractable gear and constant-speed propellers via FADEC qualify the type as a complex aircraft per FAR 61.31, so multi-engine, IFR, and complex training can all be delivered in a single airframe rather than transitioning students between platforms.
Before you buy more aircraft
The next airframe is rarely the highest-leverage move.
Flight school revenue is a function of three things — utilisation, dispatch reliability, and student progression — that multiply rather than add. Most schools running below 850 hours per aircraft per year have hidden capacity worth more than the next purchase, already paid for and sitting on the ramp.
Read: Why buying more aircraft probably won't grow your schoolHow flight schools track this aircraft in Aviatize
Schools typically configure each DA42 in Aviatize as a single airframe with the two Austro AE 300 engines modeled as separate child components for independent TBO and overhaul-reserve tracking. Block-hour billing for the ME/IR syllabus is most often dual-rate (different rates for ME-IFR dual versus single-pilot block hours). Jet-A fuel surcharges are tracked independently of any 100LL-burning singles in the same fleet so the fuel-price exposure of each airframe is visible. Currency requirements (multi-engine currency, IPC, ME-IR proficiency) gate booking creation in the validation engine.
Editorial confidence
4 primary sources cited (POH / TCDS / type-club). Spec data and regulatory positioning are well-attributed; narrative synthesis is editorial.
Sources
Primary sources are POH / TCDS / manufacturer pages; derived sources record where Aviatize editorial synthesis is layered on top.
- Primary sourcePOH·Retrieved 2026-05-05
Diamond Aircraft Industries
https://www.diamondaircraft.com/Diamond Aircraft DA42 product page links to current DA42-VI Pilot's Operating Handbook reference data.
- Primary sourceEASA TCDS·Retrieved 2026-05-05
European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA)
https://www.easa.europa.eu/en/document-library/type-certificatesEASA TCDS A.005 covers DA42 TDI, DA42 NG, and DA42-VI variants.
- Primary sourceFAA TCDS·Retrieved 2026-05-05
Federal Aviation Administration (FAA)
https://drs.faa.gov/browse/excelExternalWindow/A57CEFAA Type Certificate Data Sheet A57CE covers FAA-validated DA42 variants.
- Primary sourceManufacturer brief·Retrieved 2026-05-05
Austro Engine
https://www.austroengine.at/Austro Engine AE 300 product brief — TBR/TBO and approved operating envelope.
- Editorial synthesisAviatize-internal·Retrieved 2026-05-05
Aviatize editorial
Entry authored by Aviatize from accumulated industry knowledge cross-referenced against the primary sources cited above. Specific fleet figures, fleet wins, and recent production status changes are research-backlog candidates and should be verified against primary sources before flipping verified: true.