# Nigerian Aviation school gets 20 new Diamond aircraft

- Link: https://www.military.africa/2017/05/nigerian-aviation-school-gets-20-new-diamond-aircraft/
- Published: 2017-05-05T19:54:00+01:00
- Author: Ekene Lionel

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The Nigerian Premier civilian aviation college NCAT has just received a batch of
20 new build  Diamond trainer aircraft from the manufacturer. This set of aircraft
were ordered in 2013 to replace the older aircraft usd for training. The aircraft
were bought at the estimated price of about $20 million USD through a middle man
company Interjet Nigerian Limited, Diamond Aircraft official representation in West
Africa.

The first aircraft was delivered to the Nigerian Government through the Minister
of Aviation for state on April 24th.

The new set of aircrafts will replace the obsolete set of air-beetle used for flight
training in the institution.

five twin-engine DA-42 and 15 single-engine DA-40 trainers The DA 42 is powered 
by two Austro Engine AE300 diesel engines, which produce 168 hp each to propel the
aircraft to a maximum cruise speed of 328 km/h. They are also equipped with a glass
cockpit and Garmin 1000 system, the new aircraft will reduce operating costs while
improving cost efficiency.

[[Although, the delivery has been delayed for more than a year due to the Government
failure to release funds early, the agreement between the NIgerian Government and
Interjet was signed since 2013. Due to the inability of the Government to pat on
time seven of the initial batch were sold to another buyer to pay for maintenance
and storage cost.

NCAT also operates 29 trainer aircraft including ageing Socata Trinidad TB-20GT 
and Beech Baron 58s which were purchased as second hand equipment more than 15 years
ago.

Futhermore, Diamond Aircraft and Interjet Nigeria have agreed to set up a state 
of the art Maintenance, Repair and Overhaul (MRO) centre in Abuja for DA-Series 
aircrafts. The MRO will service the growing number of West African operators of 
Diamond aircraft. These include the air forces of Ghana, Niger and Nigeria, which
together operate between 7 and 12 DA-42 MPP (Multi-Purpose Platform)’Guardian’ maritime
surveillance aircraft.

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