Beige Interieur Leather

Any DA62 related topics

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Felix
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Beige Interieur Leather

Post by Felix »

Hi DA62 owners,

Thank you very much for letting me join the forum here. This is a wonderful community, and I already enjoyed very much reading all the posts here.

We are in the process of getting a DA62. We are looking at some options, and some include the Beige interior leather (vs. black). It truly looks great and very elegant, but we are a bit concerned about the durability and sensitivity with e.g. dark blue jeans.

Any owners with beige leather here that could share their experience?

Thanks a lot!

Felix

P.S. I did about 500h in the DA40 back then in the 2000's and highly enjoyed that, a marvelous plane to train. But I must say that the DA62 truly is a significant evolution from Diamond. Finally they got it right with the "luxury" feeling and materials!
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Re: Beige Interieur Leather

Post by CFIDave »

The beige leather interior on our DA62 has held up very well after 3 years of use (although last year we added matching beige sheepskin seat covers for the first 2 rows of seating). Blue jeans don't stain the leather at all.

Given how underpowered the factory air conditioning is, I'd recommend the lighter color to minimize heat buildup, and because the leather comes with the same infrared-rejecting coating that BMW uses on its convertible seating. I also recommend JetShades to be installed in the windows in warmer weather to reduce solar heat gain through the windows; they're easily removed in the winter or when flying at night.

And welcome to the forum!
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Gordon
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Re: Beige Interieur Leather

Post by Gordon »

Quote" Given how underpowered the factory air conditioning is"
This is an interesting comment - I too am looking to buy a DA62 and was infact flying a rental DA62 yesterday. The OAT was only 24C (75F) and sunny. The RACC could cope, but only just, after the plane had been sitting in the sun all morning. In summer our temps are usually over 32C (90F) I was thinking the system was a bit inadequate.
I was wondering if the unit was not fully serviceable but maybe it's the limitations of the system and the small vents for the size of the cabin.

It's a pity since it's expensive and one is lumping around a third alternator ontop of system weight.
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NDCDA62
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Re: Beige Interieur Leather

Post by NDCDA62 »

Welcome to the forum Felix!

I chose black for aesthetics and practicality. Blue jeans destroyed the white leather in my car and I am also not keen on the sheepskin covers!

In Europe there is less need for air conditioning, however, you should bear in mind for W&B you will need to add around 40kg of ballast in the rear when flying with two persons up front, if you choose not to install A/C.
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Re: Beige Interieur Leather

Post by jast »

Gordon wrote: Fri May 08, 2020 3:43 am I was wondering if the unit was not fully serviceable but maybe it's the limitations of the system and the small vents for the size of the cabin.

It's a pity since it's expensive and one is lumping around a third alternator ontop of system weight.
There are a few usability tricks with the a/c you can do to increase efficiency. Since we got the DA62 in November in Germany with A/C I didn‘t have a chance to test it in hot weather yet, but at least at 25C it already made it a lot more comfortable especially while setting up and taxiing. During a test flight in LOAN last summer we had closer to 30C and eventually opened all vents, also in the third row and closed all non-a/c vents and it was getting significantly better. However it is not as good as usual car a/c‘s.

We got an already configured aircraft, so we had no choice. Since I am sensitive on weight in everything which flys, I would have not configured it. But for our usage profile with kids and because we chose the 2300kg version the 40kg additional weight weren’t causing w&b issues anyway. And in retrospective I was quite happy with the more balanced distribution and the additional comfort during this one warm day 8-) I am sure the co-pilot (wife) and Kids acceptance factor will be quite high during the upcoming summer :P

Regards,
Jan
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Felix
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Re: Beige Interieur Leather

Post by Felix »

Thanks a lot guys for your very helpful answers!!

We're considering now and let's see what we end up with :-) I'll definitely let you know

Felix
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Re: Beige Interieur Leather

Post by ultraturtle »

I had beige leather in both my DA42-VI and DA62. No problems with staining. Love it.

Regarding the "underpowered factory air conditioning" observation, I'd like to add a few comments.
  • "Underpowered" is relative. The system works better than any installed on a piston aircraft. Unlike other piston twins, the DA62 and DA42-VI air conditioners run off of a dedicated 70 amp alternator mounted to the left engine. Being an alternator driving an electric compressor, it outputs full power at very low rpm, meaning full cooling is available at idle or near idle power. Other aircraft use engine driven compressors, which are next to worthless when needed most - on the ground at idle power. I operate almost exclusively in Georgia and Florida, use JetShades with the Premium upgrade, close off the rear A/C vents, and am comfortable taxiing on the hottest days of summer with all doors and exterior vents closed.
  • My perception is that there is less exposed plexiglass on the DA62, and much better insulation than the DA42-VI. Perhaps it is just me, but I feel cooler in the DA62 than I did in the DA42-VI, which has the same air conditioning system cooling a smaller space.
  • Even though it generally gets used only for ground ops and flight below ~ 5,000', I find that the air conditioning system immensely improves the flight experience and is well worth the price and weight of the upgrade.
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Re: Beige Interieur Leather

Post by CFIDave »

Rob, I beg to disagree about Diamond's RACC factory air conditioning.

I also had the factory air conditioning in both my DA42-VI and now a DA62 (it's the same RACC II unit), and it's totally inadequate for the weather we get in Virginia during June-August. I also close all the external air vents, and have had to resort to JetShades to try and reduce solar heat gain.

Even on 80degF days, the cabin temperature never drops to the thermostat preset temperature. To try and compensate, we've been forced to set the thermostat to the lowest temperature (i.e. LO) with the fan blower up to its highest flow (i.e., 3), and yet the A/C still doesn't produce enough cold air; it seems to do little more than kill the humidity on hot, humid days.

In contrast, I've flown DA40 Lycoming and DA42 TDI aircraft with the retrofit Cabin Cool system (which requires an external heat exchanger mounted on the belly creating additional drag) that works effectively -- even when flying out of Houston in the summertime. I've also flown in Beech Barons and other GA aircraft with air conditioning that works as well as that of a typical automobile.

Sadly Diamond seems to have sized the capacity of the RACC system for Austria -- not for the weather we experience in the US.
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Colin
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Re: Beige Interieur Leather

Post by Colin »

Does CabinCool have an STC for the DA62? I assume you can order a plane without the factory unit.
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Re: Beige Interieur Leather

Post by CFIDave »

Colin wrote: Tue May 19, 2020 9:34 pm Does CabinCool have an STC for the DA62? I assume you can order a plane without the factory unit.
I've never seen a DA62 ordered without the factory air conditioning, so I doubt there's enough demand for Premiere to develop an STC for it like they have for the DA40.
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