2 planes like diamonds in UVSC fleet

PROVO — On a recent day in the skies above Provo Canyon, Cade Frisby guided a new airplane toward Heber City.

During the flight, Frisby would turn his eyes to a screen that displayed a terrain map, with browns and blues to indicate mountains and lakes and a curvy white line showing U.S. 189.

Unlike other planes Utah Valley State College aviation instructors such as Frisby use to teach students, the computerized screen is connected to a satellite and also allows him to check clouds, precipitation and radar.

"In all reality, this airplane is really easy to fly," Frisby said. "It has a lot of advanced systems, but it's easier because it's so automated."

The twin engine, four-seat plane is a Diamond DA-42 Twin Star.

UVSC purchased two of them — $469,000 each — in April.

About a dozen aviation students are already flying them, said Kenny Downing, the marketing manager for UVSC's Global Aviation program.

Aviation instructors count 34 airplanes in the UVSC fleet: The "trainers," the "complex trainers" and the Twin Stars, now the gems of the fleet.

The 17 trainers are called Katanas, manufactured by Diamond Aircraft Industries, small, white, single-engine planes each with two seats.

Students ready for more advanced flying train in 15 other planes that range in make and model but are considered "complex" because the landing gear folds into the fuselage, a difficult task for a student pilot to master.

But it's the Twin Stars that make the school proud.

The model is new. Its body is a composite of carbon and glass fibers, as opposed to most other small aircraft made of metal, such as aluminum.

UVSC purchased among the first available Twin Stars in North America from Diamond Aircraft. UVSC is the only flight school in the United States with Twin Stars in its fleet. The manufacturer has used the UVSC models in flight shows.

Other pilots and flight schools "are watching us," Downing said. "We're getting calls, 'How's it flying at this altitude?' It's amazing."

The diesel-fueled piston engines are perhaps the most unusual part of the light plane.

The Twin Stars are a perfect steppingstone to commercial planes used by regional carriers because the engines run on diesel, similar to jet fuel.