Nah, I think it’s unlikely the 50 is a byproduct of a large mil order.
I think you’re right – it’s just filling in product portfolio.
Is anyone really surprised that the communist Chinese would make missteps in product development and marketing? These people buy existing aircraft companies, they don’t build them. The good news is that they spend money and then quite possibly divest themselves at a loss, as with Mooney.
Silvaire wrote:
Is anyone really surprised that the communist Chinese would make missteps in product development and marketing?
I would say there are more than enough examples of western aviation companies doing much more severe missteps in that direction. Concorde and A380 just to name two.
Concorde and A380 were to put it lightly highly influenced by government money, the distribution of which is done by people with the same business sense and same motivations as the communist Chinese.
Considering the “Communist Chinese” have made enough money thanks to their business sense to profligately spend it sight unseen as vanity investments on succesful capitalist-run companies like Mooney or Cirrus or TCM puts that critique into a better light, I find.
They make their money by selling cheap politically repressed labor, not developing aircraft. In these cases they then spend the money buying companies they know they couldn’t create themselves, presumably for the status. Then if broader history is a guide (e.g. Japanese property ownership in the 80s) they will sell at a loss.
BTW, the most most likely way a contractor can sell a Chinese controlled product to a western military country is if it is ‘commercial off the shelf’. That would support the idea of this plane being certified for commercial sale, but focused on potential western military sales. The Chinese owned engine supplier is already playing that game. So I think it’s an interesting theory.
The first DA50 RG is sold to a customer in the Netherlands. A few weeks ago the first DA50 RG was sold to a customer. It is worldwide the first DA50 RG sold and was sold through the Diamond Aircraft Dealer ‘Wings over Holland’. The plane will be delivered to the customer in late spring 2021. Here is a short article (in Dutch) in the Dutch magazine Piloot & Vliegtuig (Pilot & Plane).
Edit: Added RG to type.
Interesting. The TP version has reportedly been scrapped, and they are doing a fixed gear version!
How much do you reckon one of these would set you back? £1million?
Probably around 900k Euro.
