October. 05/07

University of North Dakota Aerospace Foundation orders Diamond D-JET

At AOPA Expo, UND Aerospace and Diamond Aircraft announced the purchase of a D-JET by UND Aerospace Foundation. The D-JET from Diamond Aircraft will be used for air service and flight education to prepare graduates of the John D. Odegard School of Aerospace Sciences at the University of North Dakota for careers in the emerging VLJ and personal jet market.

“Diamond Aircraft and UND have a long-standing relationship, and we are very excited that UND will now be using the D-JET for their advanced training programs,” says Peter Maurer, President of Diamond Aircraft and D-JET Corporation. “We greatly respect the quality of education and training provided by UND, and look forward to exploring the many exciting opportunities this purchase opens up for cooperation between our organizations.”

“We are excited to add the D-JET to our training fleet. The addition of the D-JET supports our commitment to leading the industry by staying on the forefront of aviation technology”, says Dr. Bruce Smith, Dean of UND's Odegard School. “It is an ideal transition aircraft into the regional airlines when used in conjunction with our level six CRJ 200 Flight Training Device.” Smith added that “the D-JET is considered a state-of-the-art aircraft and will complement our existing fleet. We appreciate our relationship with Diamond and look forward to including the D-JET in our capstone course.”

About Diamond Aircraft Company:
Diamond Aircraft is a leading manufacturer of modern composite aircraft, and the only company to offer a full line of personal aircraft, from the DA20 two-seat trainer, to the DA40 family of 4-seat pistons, the DA42 light twin turbo-diesel, the DA50 5-seat high-performance single-engine, and the D-JET, a 5-seat Personal Light Jet, as well type-specific flight training devices. Diamond Aircraft operates three factories in Austria, Canada and China, making it the only GA manufacturer with a truly global operation.

For more information about Diamond Aircraft, please visit www.diamondair.com

About UND Aerospace:
UND Aerospace, which includes the Odegard School of Aerospace Sciences at the University of North Dakota and the UND Aerospace Foundation (UNDAF), is an international leader in collegiate and contract aviation education and training services flying over 100,000 hours per year in over 120 aircraft. UNDAF also has facilities in Spokane, Washington with Spokane Falls Community College; Lumberton, North Carolina with Robeson Community College; Phoenix, Arizona in conjunction with Chandler-Gilbert Community College; Williston, North Dakota with Williston State College; and Crookston, Minnesota with the University of Minnesota in addition to its home-base in Grand Forks, North Dakota. With more than 2,000 students from throughout the world, the John D. Odegard School of Aerospace Sciences is the second largest college at the University of North Dakota. Undergraduate and graduate programs leading to a variety of rewarding careers in aerospace are offered through five different academic departments: aviation, atmospheric sciences, computer science, earth system science and policy, and space studies. The UND Aerospace training complex is the most technologically advanced environment for aerospace education, training and research in the world.

The Odegard School news releases are available on-line at http://www.aero.und.edu and click News for a list of news releases.