London Scenic Flights, based at Stapleford Flight Centre, UK, has placed an order for two Diamond DA42 Twin Stars, one of which will make traffic reporting flights for Capital Radio.

It is expecting delivery of the first aircraft in October and the second in early 2005. Head of training Colin Dobney said: “We’re number three on the production list and we’ll be the first flight centre to get it.”

The company currently operates three Seneca Is, which it is looking to replace. “They’ve been good aeroplanes but they cost a fortune in maintenance,” said Dobney. “The reason we’ve gone for Diamonds is that they’re brand-new aeroplanes with the latest technology.

“We like the frugal nature of the [Thielert] engine – we’ll probably get about a twelfth of the fuel burn we

get with the Senecas and it’s Jet A1 fuel rather than AvGas so there’s a considerable fuel saving there. It’s a very sound engine, developed by Mercedes, which is honed for aircraft use.

“The only down side of them is that they only hold four people but they do hold them with bags and

full fuel and go a reasonable distance,” he added.

One of the Twin Stars will be used for twice-daily traffic reporting flights as the company recently won the contract for the flying eye – Capital Radio’s traffic service – after 16 years of trying.

The company performs IR training with its flight school, which the Twin Stars will also be used for. The Senecas are mainly used for aerial photography and pleasure flights over London.

In order to expand the maintenance services on offer at Stapleford, it is preparing to take on a Diamond maintenance contract. “Here at Stapleford Flight Centre we have a very good maintenance unit and we will be gearing ourselves up to becoming a Diamond maintenance centre,” said Dobney. “We are already a centre for Piper and Cessna and our mechanics are away doing the composite courses already.”

Looking to the future, the company is hoping to extend its AOC so that it can make business charter flights around Europe. “We’re going to change our AOC so as well as making A to A flights we will be able to make A to B flights,” said Dobney. “As a result we’re looking to do some fairly long charter work. We’re always getting enquiries which we have to turn away – people wanting to get to Paris at the drop of a hat, for example.

“When we have the new AOC and Twin Stars, we will be able to make these flights. Once we get the AOC, which should be by the end of July, we are hoping to get a Chieftain as well.

“We are looking closely at moving into jet operations as well. Of course, we don’t want to run before we can walk but we will be looking towards the end of the year at a couple of Citations hopefully.

“The field length at Stapleford means that we would have to use either Stansted, Southend or London City to operate the jets but it’s where I see the market heading and where you can make the most money from charter,” said Dobney.