Diamond Aircraft Restarts European DA20i Katana Production

After over a 10-year hiatus, Diamond Aircraft is resuming European production of the DA20i Katana, the company announced on Thursday.

Diamond said the move comes after flight schools, flying clubs, and private owners called for the aircraft to return to the market.

The aircraft will continue its production at Diamond’s facility in Wiener Neustadt, Austria, and will feature a number of key upgrades. The Katana will be powered by a Rotax 912 iSc3 Sport engine and equipped with a Garmin G500 TXi glass cockpit, giving the flight deck a touchscreen interface not seen in previous models.

By providing advanced avionics and improved engine performance, Diamond said it hopes to reduce pilot workloads, provide a cleaner cockpit, and deliver a more immersive flying experience.

As is tradition in any DA20 series aircraft, the newly-restored model will be built on a composite airframe that supplies structural durability. By combining trusted performance with innovation, the new DA20i Katana seeks to provide flight schools with a compelling option to add to their fleets of training aircraft. 

“We’re thrilled to bring the DA20i Katana back to Europe,” said Jane Wang, director of sales, marketing, and flight ops at Diamond Aircraft Austria. “This aircraft has always held a special place in the hearts of pilots and instructors, and with its new upgrades, it’s ready to inspire the next generation of aviators.”

While European production of the DA20 series was discontinued more than a decade ago, production for the North American market continued at Diamond’s Canadian facilities with the DA20-C1. The main differences between the DA20-C1 and the DA20i Katana can be found in the engine, with the former powered by the American-manufactured Continental IO-240-B32B, as opposed to the European-made Rotax for the latter. 

The company said production at the Canadian facilities will remain unchanged, and order books for reservations for the new aircraft are officially open.