Flying Magazine Review of DA40 NG

Any DA40 related topics

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Pascal
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Re: Flying Magazine Review of DA40 NG

Post by Pascal »

I am a volunteer ski patroller during the winter. Many of my colleagues on the mountain are paramedics. The portable pulse oxymeters are just one of the tools we use and never the only one as their readings can be unreliable.

https://www.amperordirect.com/pc/help-p ... tions.html
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Re: Flying Magazine Review of DA40 NG

Post by pietromarx »

carym wrote:You’re right, the link worked when I tried it at work, but does not work from home. However, your link is the correct one. You are doing everything right and if you stay above 90% saturation you should be ok without oxygen. Since these posts are read by many others, I wanted to be sure that other readers are also aware of the potential issues. Since I am more than 15 years older than you my lungs no longer do as well and I start to desaturate (<90%) above about 8 or 9K.

Stay safe!
Totally agree. This is a good thread to have. Lots of people want to fly high, but there be demons up there (to paraphrase "The Right Stuff.")
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Re: Flying Magazine Review of DA40 NG

Post by Boatguy »

Keith M wrote:
Boatguy wrote:the NG has a higher stall speed, more speed over the numbers and more energy to dissipate. That's the tradeoff for better performance. No getting around it.
True, but if Diamond had offered the 50kg lighter CD-155 as an option in the same airframe, would you have opted for that?
Perhaps, but I like to read the AFMs rather than speculate. 50kg is certainly a nice weight reduction, but how does it play out in actual in the airframe performance? I don't know.

I/we have to choose from what is offered, not what I'd like to be offered. Diamond offered the 180 and the Austro 300, and I choose the Austro 300. On another day with other choices, I'd study the AFMs again and perhaps make a different decision.
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Re: Flying Magazine Review of DA40 NG

Post by Boatguy »

Colin wrote:For my long trips (SMO – FHR for instance) I have on O2 at 5k and above. It makes a HUGE difference in how tired I am at the end of the long flights. That means it probably has an impact on cognitive perform and since that's what might keep me alive when something goes wrong, I put up with things stuck up my nose.
I'm not doubting that you feel much better with the O2, but did you by any chance also do any measurements that led you to the decision to use O2 at lower altitudes? Did you also use it in your DA-40 (not that the plane changes the effect of the altitude).

I think you are probably on to something, but I really like hard data as well. I think I'm going to start measuring my O2 saturation at lower altitudes.
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Re: Flying Magazine Review of DA40 NG

Post by carym »

Boatguy wrote:
I think you are probably on to something, but I really like hard data as well. I think I'm going to start measuring my O2 saturation at lower altitudes.
It is generally recommended to use O2 whenever one's sats are <90%. However, heart rate goes up even when sats are in the lower 90's and the increased heart rate does add extra physiologic stress. If you really want some hard data you might want to check not only your O2 sats, but also your heart rate both when off and when on supplemental oxygen. If you are looking for data that has been published, this study shows that has saturation decreases heart rate increases, even at relatively "low" altitudes:
Aerosp Med Hum Perform. 2016 Jul;87(7):596-603
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Re: Flying Magazine Review of DA40 NG

Post by AlexanderBingham »

I'm a 44 yo who lives 9 months a year at 7000MSL and spend most of my winter months living at 9000MSL. I am able to maintain 95+ up to 12000 comfortably and don't see any negative effects or need O2 but I carry it and monitor it closely. Heck even when climbing I check it regularly. At some point, with more age, I expect to see that change.

I have been flying a DA40 and considered moving to the DA40NG or DA42NG/DA42-VI which would do better at my elevations. I would rather have DA42....
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Re: Flying Magazine Review of DA40 NG

Post by TimS »

I lost my O2 Sensor in my last move a couple of years ago.
I really should get a new one, I had a slick one that basically had a watch band with a battery and display and then ran a wire to the finger. So you could wear it constantly during flight, or if really curious you could download the data as a CSV file. It was designed/marketed as home health monitoring for checking on sleep apnea :D

What are people now using?

Tim
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Re: Flying Magazine Review of DA40 NG

Post by Colin »

do any measurements that led you to the decision to use O2 at lower altitudes? Did you also use it in your DA-40 (not that the plane changes the effect of the altitude).
I read a pilot (I think it was James Fallows) reporting that his night vision improved with O2. I wore it for my entire first cross-country because we had a concentrator instead of a tank. The fingertip sensor reported that even at 7k my saturation (which would fall to 93% at that altitude) was up at 98% and my heart rate was lower (although I don't remember the numbers). Yes, my night vision *seemed* improved, but the real difference was that after a day of flying instead of feeling like I had climbed Mt. Equinox and sledded down, it felt like I had done a six hour drive. So I was a little stiff (less so in the DA42), but was no longer wiped out. That's a huge difference, especially when you do a multi-day trip.

I have a fingertip sensor with AAA batteries. I just got an $85 watch unit on Amazon that seems pretty clever. Only used it on one flight so far, but it was slick.
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Re: Flying Magazine Review of DA40 NG

Post by carym »

Colin wrote:
I have a fingertip sensor with AAA batteries. I just got an $85 watch unit on Amazon that seems pretty clever. Only used it on one flight so far, but it was slick.
Colin,
Thanks for the info. I have been wanting to write an app for the Apple Watch to use as a pulse oximeter, since it is known to have the appropriate LEDs to get this information. I think that it would be a "killer" app for pilots because you could have it warn you at any given saturation with a haptic warning. However, Apple has been unwilling to release the necessary code modules to access this function. I suspect they are worried from a medical-legal standpoint that something may happen that would open them up for a law suit.

If anyone knows how to access these LEDs, please let me know. My coding abilities are not the greatest but I have written a couple of medical apps for the iOS that are available (for free) in the App Store.
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Re: Flying Magazine Review of DA40 NG

Post by pietromarx »

Garmin's Fenix and Pilot watches now have the green LED to do oxymetry.

Very doubtful you will ever get Apple to give you direct access on the watch.
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