Diamond DA50 RG

This page describes the standard 5-seat DA50 RG -- Diamond's retractable-gear, composite, diesel-powered high-performance single, FAA type certified July 25, 2023 under TCDS A00064IB, which names exactly one model, "DA 50 C." No splitting question arises: there is one certificate, one model, one seating configuration on this certificate (with an optional 4-seat business-seating modification, OÄM 50-047, noted below rather than split out).

The airplane was developed and first certified in Europe -- EASA type certification preceded FAA validation by roughly three years -- and reached the US market only once A00064IB was approved. It is powered by a single Continental Centurion 3.0 (marketed as the CD-300), a turbocharged, FADEC-controlled, common-rail direct-injection V6 diesel burning Jet-A, driving a 3-blade MT-Propeller MTV-12-D/210-56 constant-speed prop through a gearbox.

Optional 4-seat configuration. TCDS Note 10 lists OÄM 50-047, "Business Seating Configuration 1st Passenger Row," as an approved non-basic major change that drops the certificated seat count from 5 to 4 in exchange for a different first-row seating arrangement. This page's frontmatter describes the standard 5-seat airplane; a buyer should check a specific airframe's data plate and equipment list for this option.

One page, one certificated model (DA 50 C), one standard configuration. The only documented variant is the optional 4-seat OÄM 50-047 business-seating change described above, which the certificate treats as a modification to the same type design rather than a separate model -- there is no separate Variants table row for it because Diamond's spec sheet publishes no distinct weight, speed or range figures for that configuration.

No single row of Diamond's current specification sheet states cruise speed, fuel burn and range together at one power setting -- the same situation diamond-da62 documents for its own spec sheet, and worth repeating here rather than silently doing the same thing again:

• Cruise speed is published only as "Cruise speed at 82% (14,000 ft)" -- 172 kts TAS -- with no matching fuel burn.
• Fuel burn is published at two separate settings: "Consumption (12,000 ft, 60% PWR)" -- 10.3 gal/hr -- and "Consumption at max. range (FL180, 45% PWR)" -- 8 gal/hr. This page stores the 60% figure in fuel_burn_gph.
• Range is published only at 45% power, FL180, in two forms: 820 nm "no climb, no reserves" and 754 nm "incl. 30 min. reserve." This page stores 754 nm, the reserve-inclusive figure, in range_nm -- a deliberate choice toward the number a buyer can actually plan a flight against, rather than the larger no-reserve figure Diamond also publishes. Both numbers describe the same 45% PWR / FL180 flight; the 66 nm gap between them is entirely the 30-minute reserve.

cruise_percent_bhp and cruise_altitude_ft are left out of frontmatter because no single stored figure's setting can be asserted without misrepresenting which of the three rows it belongs to -- see validator_exempt. The same reasoning rules out the four econ_cruise_* fields: none of the three published rows carries all of speed, burn and range, so there is no complete economy row to record either.

Best rate of climb is published without an alternate-weight caveat -- "Best rate of climb 3.96 m/s / 780 ft/min" under a table headed "(MTOM, ISA)" -- so it is read as the gross-weight, sea-level figure.

Stall speed is published as a single figure, "landing configuration," 58 kts CAS -- stored in vs0_kias. No separate clean-configuration (vs1_kias) figure is published anywhere this session could find; see validator_exempt.

DA50 RG (Continental CD-300, 49 gal usable Jet-A, 4,407 lb gross):

* Constrained by the 198 lb baggage limit (TCDS) rather than by useful load at this fuel state; the "5 pax + max baggage" row is illustrative, not a Diamond-published figure.

1,210 lb useful load reconciles exactly with the manufacturer's own stated 1,210 lb useful load and with max_gross_weight_lbs (4,407) - empty_weight_lbs (3,197) -- no rounding gap on this page, unlike the ~3 lb gap recorded on diamond-da62. Two adults with full fuel and a generous baggage allowance over roughly 750 nm is a strong single-engine touring mission; four adults with full fuel leaves comparatively little baggage margin (82 lb) once the 198 lb TCDS baggage-compartment limit is also respected.

• Flight Training (2): Far too expensive and complex (retractable gear, turbocharged diesel, FADEC) to make sense as a trainer; a G1000-equipped DA40 is the rational choice in this family.
• Backcountry (1): Retractable gear and a composite airframe rule out unimproved strips.
• Business Travel (8): A genuinely capable single-engine business platform -- good cruise speed, a 20,000 ft ceiling, Jet-A economics, and a cabin Diamond markets as class-leading for a single.
• Aerobatics (1): Not certified for aerobatics.
• Cross-Country (8): Solid range and speed on efficient diesel fuel burn make this a strong traveling single, though the published range is more modest than the DA62 twin in the same family.
• Cargo Hauling (4): A 1,210 lb useful load is respectable for a 5-seat single but is quickly consumed by four adults and baggage; see Payload-Range Dynamics below.
• Local Fun Flying (2): Not an economical choice for pattern work or short local flights at this acquisition and hourly cost.
• Surveying (2): No special-mission variant exists for the DA50 RG, unlike the DA42 MPP/DA62 MPP in the same family.

Garmin G1000 NXi integrated flight deck, Garmin GFC 700 3-axis automatic flight control system with yaw damper, single-lever FADEC power control. TKS known-icing protection (FIKI) is available as a factory option under modification OÄM 50-011/k, per TCDS Note 9.

None found. TCDS Note 10 lists three approved factory major changes rather than aftermarket STCs: MÄM 50-110 (turbocharger interface change), OÄM 50-011/k (TKS ice protection), and OÄM 50-047 (4-seat business seating). Per runbook rule 32, the absence of any other modification from the TCDS is not evidence none exists -- no dedicated STC search was run this session given how new and low-volume this type is.

• Parts availability: Continental Aerospace Technologies-authorized service centers for engine work; composite-trained shops for airframe work. Left unscored in frontmatter -- see validator_exempt.
• Mechanic familiarity: Left unscored in frontmatter -- this is a young type (FAA certification July 2023) with limited field experience outside Diamond's own service network so far.
• Engine overhaul cost / TBO: both left blank -- see validator_exempt. Five Controller.com listings quote "Engine TBO: 2000" (four of five) or "1800" (one), but this reads as one shared listing-template figure reused across sellers rather than five independent sources, so it is not stored as a sourced figure; see the market passage.

Prices are asking-price data from Controller.com (retrieved 2026-09-10), not a Vref or Aircraft Bluebook considered value. That snapshot showed 24 active listings, 16 with a displayed price, ranging $872,824-$1,499,500 with a mean of $1,157,216 across the priced listings -- stored here as $872,824 / $1,499,500 / $1,157,000 (min/max/typical, rounded). No Diamond factory list price was obtainable: the configurator requires an interactive quote, and the one dealer price list found was explicitly marked for sales partners only, not the public -- see validator_exempt.price_new_usd. A Vref/Bluebook subscription, or a direct quote from Diamond, would settle a considered value.

• Continental Centurion 3.0 / CD-300: A new engine design for this airframe (distinct from Continental's own Centurion 2.0/2.0S and from the Austro AE300/330 family used elsewhere in the Diamond line); no dedicated AD-by-AD search was run this session, and the type's short service history (FAA certification July 2023) means little independent field-reliability data yet exists in the pilot press.
• Composite repair: requires a certified composite shop, as with every other Diamond model.
• TKS fluid system: where fitted, requires ongoing attention and fluid replenishment.
• Required exhaust modification: TCDS Note 8 requires MÄM 50-097 (Exhaust System Modification) on every DA50 -- worth confirming on a pre-buy that a given airframe has had it incorporated.

No fresh insurance-broker quote sourced this session; typical_hull_insurance_annual_usd is intentionally left blank rather than guessed. As a new, high-hull-value, retractable-gear composite single with a diesel engine still building an actuarial track record, expect a rate noticeably higher than a comparably-priced fixed-gear avgas single -- not independently quantified here.