DIAMOND AIRCRAFT DA-40 DIAMOND STAR

Building on the success of the Katana C1, Diamond began development of the four place DA-40 Diamond Star in 1997. The all-composite airplane would not only get a spacious fuselage, but a whole new wing (39.4'). The Diamond Star not only offered a customer upgrade to the Katana, it also sent the Austrian/Canadian company deep into new territory as a single engine, four seat, general aviation competitor. By 2000, the first DA-40s were rolling off the line. The company later introduced a variant, the DA-40FP (fixed pitch propeller), and by 2004, Diamond continued its full court press by equipping the Diamond Star with all glass instrument panels.