Diamond Aircraft has announced it will produce an all-electric version of its DA40 light single aimed at the training market. The company unveiled the project during the National Business Aviation Association convention in Las Vegas last week. The eDA40 will swap the usual piston engine for an electric motor and have a battery pod attached that will essentially turn the normally four-place aircraft into an essentially two-place trainer. The aircraft will have an endurance of 90 minutes with a 20-minute recharge time, which should cover most of the missions flown by flight schools.
The aircraft is expected to be ready in 2023 and will be produced by Diamond in Austria. The batteries will be supplied by Utah-based Electric Power Systems but a supplier for the motors has not been announced. The electric version of the DA40 will be done via supplementary type certificate because the base aircraft is essentially unchanged.