Australian International Aviation College added eight Diamond Aircraft to its fleet, including six single-engine DA40 airplanes and a pair of DA42-VI Jet A-powered twins. The new aircraft update the aviation college’s fleet, replacing Cessna 152 singles and delegating two Beechcraft B55 Baron twins for domestic use only. Jamie Johnston, the college’s operations manager, said in an email that international students will exclusively use the new Diamonds.
Kevin J. McMurtrie, chief pilot and chief flying instructor for the college, said advanced technology and improvements in fuel economy were both factors in the decision to choose Diamond for all of the college’s instructional platforms. “They are providing us with excellent reliability and are an excellent platform for our training,” McMurtrie said in the news release. “We expect fuel consumption reductions over our [avgas] powered fleet of 32 percent for our single-engine aircraft and 55 percent for the multi-engine fleet. Well done to you guys for producing such great products.”
Diamond Aircraft’s sales director Amila Karagic also pointed out in the news release that the addition of the DA40 and DA42-VI aircraft would have “huge advantages due of the economical consumption of the engines and the latest developments of the airframes.”
The college operates a growing fleet of aircraft including 16 Diamonds and two Barons. The latest aircraft additions will give students the option of learning in avgas- or Jet A-powered airplanes in a variety of configurations from two-seat singles to four-seat twins, Johnston wrote.
The Australian aviation college in Port Macquarie, New South Wales, is 240 miles north of Sydney and offers curriculum for private pilot flight training, commercial certificates, instrument flight rules ratings, and flight instructor certificates amid a picturesque coastline nestled near an inland forest on the continent’s eastern shoreline.
Training and accommodations are compiled into one AU$17,500 ($13,061 at current exchange rates) tuition fee for the seven-week all-inclusive flight instructor course. According to the school’s website, “the instructor rating is unlike any other flight training course. The student is not being taught to fly, he or she is being taught to instruct and educate others with a desire to fly.”
The multi-engine instrument rating course takes a similar approach, and the AU$16,300 ($12,167 at current rates) tuition also includes time in the new Diamond Jet A twin.
The college’s website says it is Australia’s leading flight training organization and touts its uncongested airspace and efficient airport operations as key advantages over other aviation colleges.
David Tulis
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