Deutsche Aircraft has revised the entry into service timeline for its D328eco turboprop. It has been pushed back from Q4 2026 to Q4 2027.
According to the OEM, this change to the timeline aligns with regulatory changes regarding its certification process and linked compliance requirements.
Deutsche Aircraft said the reasons behind this decision are “multifaceted” and come after internal review and discussions with customers and potential operators. Supply chain difficulties have plagued a number of aircraft OEMs’ forecasts, including Airbus, with Deutsche Aircraft also acknowledging that the pressure “remains very high”.
Photo: Deutsche Aircraft
However, one benefit of this revised EIS timeline is that Deutsche Aircraft is using this 12-month delay to explore further product enhancements. Several new features are being evaluated, and additional capabilities and improvements implemented. One feature is the improvement of STOL (Short Take-Off and Landing) performance in non-benign operational environments, and another is assessing advanced avionics capabilities – advancing the D328eco to higher standards for both commercial and multi-role operators.
Dave Jackson, CEO of Deutsche Aircraft, remarked: “While we have had to realign the EIS for our D328eco, we are taking this opportunity to investigate further product enhancements and are satisfied by the tremendous progress of the programme to date.”
Deutsche Aircraft currently has 95% of its suppliers secured and has some Letters of Intent from operators for the D328eco, signalling some appetite for the regional turboprop in the industry. Its launch customer – Private Wings, a German charter airline — was announced in March 2023, and the most recent LOI, in December 2023, was from an undisclosed customer for four of the 40-seat hybrid-electric aircraft. Construction of its Final Assembly Line in Leipzig is currently underway, where it broke ground in May 2023.
“Our success would not be possible without the dedication of our team, support from our industry partners and the substantial involvement of regional and multi-role operators during product development,” Jackson added.
