I was actually looking for something else when I headed to Livermore. An interesting aircraft had come to the field from Denver and a friend had given me a heads up about it. I went over to see if I could see it. As it turned out, the tail was just visible in a hangar across the field but there was nothing much to see. I decided to hang around for a short while before heading home.
As I was wandering along the fence line, a light twin came in to land. I got some shots as it landed and could read the DA62 logo on the aircraft. This is Diamond’s newest product and this appears to be the first example to show up in the US. I had just been reading the flight test on it in Flight International. It turns out the wife of the pilot was standing nearby. They were due to head off but we chatted for a while about their training operations and now the role of distributor for the type.
The DA62 has a change for Diamond in that it can be painted in colors. Previously, the airframes were white and all you could do was add stripes to customize them. They have done something new with the composites and this example was in a really nice metallic gray finish. They soon loaded up and headed out. This is a cool plane and a comfortable seven-seater. If you are in the market, give these guys a call!
I don’t think the single engined Diamond aircraft are particularly good looking but the twins are a lot more elegant looking. The DA62 is a particularly attractive aircraft. A friend of mine has one and he brought it in to BFI a while back. Sadly, he arrived in the middle of the day when the sun was high and the heat haze was harsh. I still got some shots but nothing too special. More recently, another 62 came into BFI but this time from the opposite direction when the light was a lot more favorable. Now I just need Steve to show up again on a clear winter day!
