About Frank Zhang
At the AERO 2022 trade show in Friedrichshafen, Frank Zhang, CEO of Diamond Aircraft, discussed the company's activities and strategy. He highlighted the successful round-the-world flight of the DA‑50, which he said began in January 2022 and concluded around April 22. According to Zhang, the aircraft flew 220 hours over nearly four months without any accidents or unscheduled maintenance, including a 13-hour leg from the U.S. mainland to Honolulu. He described the flight as demonstrating the aircraft's capability and noted that two pilots who completed the journey would be present at Diamond's stand to share their experience.
Zhang also outlined Diamond Aircraft's production strategy, stating that the company follows a "local for local" approach. He said planes produced in China remain in the Chinese market, Canadian production serves North and South America, and Austrian production serves Europe, Africa, and the Middle East. He expressed optimism about customer demand, reporting that many potential buyers at the show skipped detailed product introductions and instead asked "where can I sign the contract." Zhang characterized this as an encouraging sign for both Diamond and the general aviation industry.
Source: AI-verified profile updated from Frank Zhang's recent appearances.
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Transcript (17 segments)
I
Interviewer0:02
Another nice meeting here in AERO 2022 is Frank Zhang, the CEO of Diamond Aircraft. Frank, it's a pleasure to see you again.
F
Frank Zhang0:09
Yes, thank you. Long time. Yes, for sure.
I
Interviewer0:11
So how things going?
F
Frank Zhang0:13
Yeah, it's actually a lot of things happening since the last trip here. Actually it was 2019, April, three years ago. But I'm very glad that we are coming back, which means the industry is coming back as well.
I
Interviewer0:28
So we're standing in front of probably one of the sexiest planes in the Diamond range today. I hear that plane just went around the world?
F
Frank Zhang0:38
Correct, correct. Actually it started in January and just finished almost April 22nd.
I
Interviewer0:46
And how did it go?
F
Frank Zhang0:46
Oh, very successful. It ran for about two to four months, flying about 220 hours. No accident at all, no single accident. No scheduled maintenance whatsoever. Very smoothly. More than 13 hours for the longest leg. So it's very successful, and for sure it's with extended tanks. But you can tell from the long flight from the U.S. to Honolulu — the capability of this aircraft is great. We also released more than 2,000 hours TBR and an unconditional gearbox. So it's very good news for this aircraft. The lifetime of the engine was 1,200 hours and now it's 2,000. And the gearbox is unconditional, which means if everything goes well and the pilots and mechanics do their job properly, it will last the life of the engine. That's one of the benefits of the diesel engine and why we developed this type for the DA50. Actually, for AERO the DA50 has a special meaning because three years ago I was here to officially announce this new engine. Now I'm here not to talk about certification — I'm going to talk about how customers already enjoy the earth round. My customers, the two pilots, will be here on Saturday at this stand to show their earth round experience.
I
Interviewer2:52
I used to see Diamond over the years until your parent company took ownership. So now you have operations in China, in Canada, and in Vienna Neustadt in Austria. Are you producing aircraft in all three locations?
F
Frank Zhang3:05
Actually, this is one of the unique things about Diamond — we have a global presence, which very few general aviation manufacturers have. We can coordinate global resources. Our strategy is local for local. Canada is for the North American market. Austria is for the European market, including Africa and the Middle East. And China — we already launched production three years ago. So basically, for the foreseeable future, the planes produced in China will stay in China, and the North American-produced aircraft are for the North American and South American markets.
I
Interviewer3:55
Yes, and you continue production for the European market in Vienna Neustadt in Austria.
F
Frank Zhang3:59
This is our strategy. And we do see the demand is there. Customers like our aircraft — not only the fleet customers, which is our traditional market, but also private owners. That fits our new models like the DA50 and DA62, which are more targeted for those private owners. Our product portfolio makes it feasible to allocate different models. For example, in China we produce the DA40, in Canada also the DA40, DA50, and DA62. In Austria we are producing more value-added models. So we are very happy — step by step we are creating this kind of capability globally. I'll just tell you, we see a lot of customers coming. They're not saying 'Can you introduce the aircraft for me?' — they just say 'Where can I sign the contract? Who should I talk to?'
I
Interviewer5:08
That's a nice problem to have.
F
Frank Zhang5:09
Yes, for sure. That's very encouraging not only for Diamond, I believe, but also for the general aviation industry.
I
Interviewer5:17
Frank, we'll see you...
F
Frank Zhang5:20
Oh, thank you. See you very, very soon.
I
Interviewer5:23
You're welcome.
