During the Farnborough Air Show 2024, AviationSource got to find out more about Deutsche Aircraft & the upcoming D328eco aircraft they are developing.
We got to sit down with Anastasija Visnakova, the VP of Sales & Marketing for the company, who gave us some good insight into the program.
Continue reading for the whole interview with Ms. Visnakova…
Interview: Exploring Deutsche Aircraft & The D328eco Aircraft with Anastasija Visnakova…
JF: Anastasija, thank you for taking the time to speak to AviationSource. Would you be able to start by giving an initial overview of the D328eco program?
AV: Thanks for being here with us today, James, and a pleasure to host you in our beautiful chalet at the Farnborough Air Show 2024.
Deutsche Aircraft is producing the D328eco, directed from the previous types already in service.
So, this is an evolution to the prime prop market with this aircraft. Compared to the existing D328-100, this aircraft is stretched by 2.2 meters, meaning it is a 40-seat turboprop.
It has a brand new propulsion system with new features, including the Pratt & Whitney PW-127XT as well as state of the art avionics powered by the Garmin G5000 systems. It has a lot of other features which makes the aircraft truly the turboprop of the 21st century.
JF: We have seen that the D328eco will be marketed for multiple purposes, being commercial, military etc. Could you give us some more insight into that?
AV: Today, more than 150 D328-100 & -200 aircraft are flying globally. 30% of this is deployed in some sort of special mission or multi-role application. For example, we have 26 aircraft flying with the United States Air Force.
This aircraft is proudly delivering the highest reliability in the US Air Force fleet, which we are incredibly proud of.
The aircraft is deployed in other missions as well. For example, ISR, ambulance, border control and humanitarian missions.
We aim to deploy the same percentages with the D328eco. Around 25-30% of deliveries will be deployed to operators in any kind of special mission.
Today, there is growing demand due to geopolitical situations around the world, and that really drives interest to this aircraft.
This platform has proved itself already for multiple years and decades as a very reliable, robust and operationally excellent aircraft for any type of mission really.
JF: One of the main marketing points I have seen from this aircraft is about being able to operate on 100% SAF. How important is that particular aspect of the industry important to you and Deutsche Aircraft?
AV: Of course, sustainability is a very important aspect in the industry, and we have to contribute to that factor.
And within that, the focus on this aircraft is the 100% SAF compatibility. Within this, there is a focus on Power to Liquid fuels (PTL).
What is unique about this propulsion system is that the engines are compatible with this, but also with jet fuel too. That means you can fly one way on jet fuel and fly back on e-fuels if they’re available in the destinations that you’re flying.
This is very important because the versatility of the asset, the aircraft itself and the longevity of that is driven majorly by the propulsion system.
If we are talking about the revolutionary breakthrough propulsions systems, the application of these platforms might be very limited geographically or by infrastructure, whereas this aircrafdt can be deployed really in any part of the world.
Seondly, in this segment, the commercial operation of the aircraft is normally 10-12 years. But within that, there is a secondary market of the aircraft.
And this is very often multi-role, special mission or cargo operations in developing countries.
What we are making here makes this asset longevity really impeccable.
Nevertheless, sustainability is the frontline of what we are doing. We believe in the D328eco not just in the air, but on the ground.
Our final assembly line, which is being built in Leipzig, is going to be built according to the latest sustainability standards.
There’s going to be a really unique combination of sustainability elements throughout the chain of production.
JF: With any new entrant to the market, there is obviously the need to get competitive quickly, particularly in an industry dominated by other regional operators such as ATR. What makes this aircraft stand out in that regard?
AV: This aircraft represents a new generation of regional turboprops in the sub 50-seat segment.
And today, the demand globally is approximately for 3,800 aircraft. That means it’s replacement markets, growth markets and new markets for the aircraft specifically.
The aircraft is unique in many ways and fashions really. We call it a turbo prop of the 21st century.
It is equipped with state of the art Garmin avionics. It features things like large screens and a lot of capabilities also come with that. It’s a true STOL (short take-off and landing) aircraft as well.
Of course, the performance is one of the important aspects for the regional operators because they’re very often connected to communities which are remotely located and not necessarily in a very benign environment.
So we are talking about places which are difficult to approach due to obstacles or weather conditions.
The speed of the aircraft is very fast in this segment compared to other competitors, and of course it delivers an important commercial application too.
This aircraft delivers superb operational costs per trip. It is very competitive in comparison to any aircraft that is flying today, and we are incredibly proud of that.
JF: Continuing on that theme of efficiency, can you give some insight into how this aircraft fares against those competitors?
AV: The aircraft can fly at a speed of 324 knots, or 600 kilometers per hour. This is a very good speed for this size of aircraft.
Therefore, you can actually squeeze more segments per day. You can actually make more use of the aircraft and use of the asset because the aircraft is supposed to fly, rather than standing on the ground, right?
Because of this, you can generate more revenue and carry more passengers. In terms of the costs, if we compare it to today’s aging fleet, this aircraft provides benefits of 50% less compared to jets.
Comparing to other turbo props, we can provide from 10 to 25% in cost advantages depending on the type of aircraft and it’s age.
This aspect might sound small, but this is very meaningful to an operator because they are acquiring an asset that’s going to serve a purpose for 10, 12, 15 years, if not longer.
We see operators using aircraft that are 25-30 years old. You can imagine the maintenance cost and operational costs of these aircraft.
So we are stepping into this market offering a very efficient and advanced replacement to these operators.
JF: Coming back to sustainability, the industry is obviouslly striving to achieve net-zero emissions by 2050. In your opinion, how important is it that the industry reaches this? There have been critics of achieving this goal due to the infrastructure of SAF for example. Do you think the industry will get to that position by 2050?
AV: It’s hard to say if we’re going to get there, but of course that’s an objective which we should all stick to and do our best to reach it.
The infrastructure and availability of such resources is of course a very hot question today.
Nevertheless, what we see today, SAF is the solution that is available already today. So what we can do is we can already start using it, and many airlines are already using it.
I think in majority of the cases, we’re talking about half SAF, and we can argue about sustainability above half SAF because it’s coming from crops.
On PTL, Visnakova Said…
You’re taking food away from people’s plates, right? So it’s a very difficult discussion. What we are doing is we are focusing on PTL, which are like zero aromatics.
The CO2 emission is reduced to 95% compared to jet fuel. We believe this is the best solution today, and this is the available solution.
And this solution is to stay for many years when it comes to the breakthrough technologies, or let’s say breakthrough proposed systems such as hydrogen or hybrid electric, looking at how difficult it is today to implement SAF because of it’s availability and infrastructure.
We have to think broadly about these breakthrough technologies. What’s going to happen when we introduce it, because obviously the biggest infrastructure is the biggest concern, right?
We believe soft PTL is the solution of today that’s going to stay with us for the future.
Nevertheless, we have research, technology and sustainability departments who are working on multiple projects where we are researching the next step or next propulsion system or next technology, as well as which one will be applicable to our industry.
Right now, we don’t have the answer, but we are looking at multiple directions for this.
JF: Is there anything else you would like to say to our readers on Deutsche Aircraft & the D328eco?
AV: This is a turboprop of the 21st century.
The current generation D328s are aircraft that may have been produced in the 80s and yes, they can be upgraded and updated from time to time, but it’s still the technologies from the eighties.
The D328eco is an aircraft that is ready for the future because of it’s versatility, it’s avionics and systems.
And we see it from the market, which is great that this aircraft is going to have it’s own niche.
It’s already having it’s niche, to be very open with you.
The big future is there because of the explicitly need to replace the aging fleet of regional aircraft.
JF: Anastasija, thank you for taking the time to speak to AviationSource.
Overall Thoughts…
It remains clear that Deutsche Aircraft has laid out the roadmap for what regional turboprop travel is going to look like in the future with the D328eco.
From addressing the concerns around environmental sustainability in the aviation industry, to identifying a gap in the market where they can thrive, they have done extremely well with this.
With the first aircraft being constructed currently, the reality of that program is becoming more present.
Looking ahead, all eyes will turn to when the first aircraft is officially built and testing begins.
But one thing is for sure, the future for Deutsche Aircraft is bright, and all eyes will be on entry-into-service of the D328eco.
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