Deutsche Aircraft has taken another significant step towards certification of its D328eco regional aircraft after successfully completing low- and high-speed taxi testing and beginning flight testing of its new landing gear system.
The German aircraft manufacturer has completed five development flights using a legacy D328 aircraft configured as a dedicated flying testbed. The aircraft has accumulated more than 15 hours of ground and flight test time with the new landing gear system since flight testing began on 5th August 2026.
According to Deutsche Aircraft, all planned objectives for the initial flight-test phase were achieved, providing further validation of the landing gear design and allowing the company to progress into the next stage of its certification campaign for the D328eco.
“The successful completion of the ground and taxi test campaign, together with the first flights of our landing gear testbed, is an important achievement,” said Nico Neumann, CEO of Deutsche Aircraft.
“The results provide strong validation of the landing gear system and enable us to move into the next phase of flight testing as we continue the certification process.”
The landing gear programme is also intended to address wider challenges faced by operators of regional aircraft, particularly around component availability, supply chains and long-term support.
Deutsche Aircraft has moved to a new landing gear supplier and secured full intellectual property rights for the system. The company says this gives it direct engineering authority over the landing gear architecture and greater control over future development, upgrades, component availability and lifecycle support.
The architecture will also be harmonised across the existing D328 and new D328eco platforms, potentially providing benefits for operators of both aircraft generations.
For existing D328 operators, Deutsche Aircraft says the initiative should deliver a common landing gear architecture, improved maintainability and lifecycle support, as well as greater availability of spare parts and more predictable lead times.
The company believes greater control of the system will help reduce some of the supply constraints that have historically affected regional aircraft operators while strengthening support for the existing fleet.
Testing of the landing gear will now continue using the dedicated D328 flying testbed, with further activities planned across both flight and certification environments.
Upcoming flight testing will include braking and stopping-distance assessments, steering and ground-handling evaluations, crosswind testing and operations on unpaved runways.
The certification programme will also involve high-load and structural testing, together with assessments covering stress, durability and reliability.
“Using a legacy D328 as a dedicated flying testbed has enabled us to efficiently validate the landing gear system across the full operational envelope, from structural ground testing to taxi operations and flight testing,” said Aaron Tsang, Head of Design Organisation and VP Engineering at Deutsche Aircraft.
“The results provide valuable data while demonstrating the effectiveness of our development and certification approach for the D328eco programme.”
The latest milestone comes as Deutsche Aircraft continues development and certification work on the D328eco, the company’s next-generation regional aircraft.
The landing gear testing is expected to provide further data for the aircraft’s certification programme while also helping Deutsche Aircraft mature the system ahead of the D328eco’s eventual entry into service.
The company says bringing the landing gear system under its direct control is intended to provide greater reliability, supply chain resilience and long-term support for airlines and special mission operators.
With the initial flight-test campaign now successfully completed, the programme will move into a broader series of tests designed to demonstrate the landing gear’s performance across the operational envelope and support the next stages of D328eco certification.
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