Diamond jet issues?

[Jetdriver69]

I was wondering if anyone with Diamond jet experience could answer a few questions? First how is the reliability of the design if the jet was maintained properly? Is it really that underpowered, or is the performance acceptable? I know Beech made over 200 design changes to the 400 after they bought the design, is a 1981 Diamond that can bought for very cheap with RVSM, TAWS, etc. worth the potential problems that I heard can arise with this design. I read that the maintenace cost per hour is a lot higher than similiar jets. Thanks alot for the input.

jet

 

[Quimby]

The Diamond is a decent airplane for most trips east of the Mississippi. It's good for about 2 hours or so.......much more and the wx better be good. I think the longest leg I've done in the airplane was around 2.7 block & that was pushing it.

The mx costs can really add up if the airplane has a spotty background. We had 2 elevator horn heaters burn up ($5k each....7yrs ago). Windshields were around $50k if I recall (total for both halves + labor).

Most of the fleet is not T/R equipped. The brakes are very touchy (& not the best of the light bizjets either). The single tires didn't help on slick runways, but the typical ref speeds are fairly low (110 ballpark).

The airplane is OK to fly, depending on what you're comparing it too. It's more of a fast turboprop. You won't be flying an MU-300 around much higher than the mid-30's, even that's pushing it at warm temps. Yes, it's very performance limited in many cases.

The cabin is nice, the airplane doesn't climb real well, but they are fairly cheap...(think of it as a 380kt BE-200). Hope this helps a little.

 

[Tommy Boy]

I was wondering if anyone with Diamond jet experience could answer a few questions? First how is the reliability of the design if the jet was maintained properly? Is it really that underpowered, or is the performance acceptable? I know Beech made over 200 design changes to the 400 after they bought the design, is a 1981 Diamond that can bought for very cheap with RVSM, TAWS, etc. worth the potential problems that I heard can arise with this design. I read that the maintenace cost per hour is a lot higher than similiar jets. Thanks alot for the input.

jet

The airplane is decent. It has a tendency to dutch roll a little at the higher altitudes. But a simple half ball width on the rudder usually takes care of it. Just slower and shorter range than the bj. Avionics is a lot like the early Citation IIs. KLN90 for gps, skyhawk instruments on the co-pilot side. Maint will depend on how much flying you do and how well they are maintained. They don't do well with rigorous schedules. They were built to be a jet replacement for king air and cheyenne etc. They do that job pretty well, however it got certified with all kinds of stupid little things because the american manufacturers were fighting it getting certified.

You can get tr's on them and I would recommend it if you can. The brakes are not that good. (the anti-skid really sucks).

Hope that helps.